Cerulean Silver vs Amber Gold
by hikaranko
Summary: Edward Elric has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Everyone else calls it undercover work. To Ed, it's babysitting. But there's more to this assignment than what's on file... FMAHP crossover. please review! Chapter 41 FINALLY UP.
1. Dumbest Assignment Ever

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**

_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... HP crossover. AU with HBP release. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **sigh I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **i love crossovers. XD this is the first time I've written a story for _either _series. just thought i'd try my hand at this. when does this take place in the series? i'd have to say some time after Ed turned 16, which would make it the 6th year at Hogwarts. i'm relatively new to the HP verse, but i am getting all HP information from reliable sources and a close friend of mine who knows a lot more about HP than i do. she's my beta reader/co-writer, so thanks MJade! kinda AU, for both series.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1**

**Dumbest... Assignment... _Ever_.**

Edward Elric was not happy.

Actually, saying that would be a complete understatement: Edward Elric was pissed. He still wasn't sure exactly what he was doing sitting in a fancy looking private car on a train bound for a place that Ed was quite sure wasn't supposed to exist. He'd spent most of the trip so far staring grouchily out the window at the lush green scenery outside as it whizzed past his vision.

There was no one to talk to. Well, no one _interesting _anyway. Ed glanced over at the other people in the car. There was one chubby guy with an idiotic face and short, bristly hair and another thickset boy with a pudding-bowl haircut. One of them had his long, gorilla-like arms folded over his chest while the other was reading some comic book. They were grinning wickedly along with one other boy, a pale-faced boy with white-blonde hair, pointed features, and cold silver eyes. Like a boss of the mob, he lay stretched out on the seat with his head on the lap of the only girl in the compartment. He was easily distinguished as the leader.

Ed snorted and returned his attention out the window. That last kid. All of Ed's current misery could be blamed on him.

* * *

"WHAT IS THIS?"

Colonel Roy Mustang didn't even flinch at the loud bang made by Ed's fists as they slammed down on his desk. He just calmly glanced at the envelope that Ed had thrown toward him, vaguely recognizing it. He mentally reviewed its contents before pushing it back toward Edward.

"Is there a problem, Fullmetal?"

The Fullmetal Alchemist glared at him hatefully. "'Is there a problem'?" he echoed incredulously. "_Obviously _there's a problem! What the hell kinda assignment _is _this, Colonel? When the _hell _did I become a damn _babysitter_!"

Mustang's eyebrows came together in mild confusion as he looked at Ed. "Babysitter? Where in the file does it say anything about being a babysitter?"

"It might as _well _say I'm gonna be a babysitter! This thing is asking me to keep an eye on some spoiled rich kid! What's the big idea!"

The Colonel groaned, feeling the hint of a brand new headache. "Fullmetal..."

"And what's up with all the wizards and magic crap!"

"Fullmetal."

"I don't have time for an idiotic assignment like this, Mustang, and you know that."

"Fullmetal."

"If you guys are makin' fun of me, I swear I'll...!"

Roy snapped his fingers impatiently, a small spark of fire rising into the air with a roar. "FULLMETAL! Shut up and listen to briefing!"

Ed's eye twitched slightly. He slowly shut his mouth and stepped away from the desk to grudgingly stand at attention. He clenched his hands into tight fists. Ed was itching to sock Roy right in that annoying pretty boy face of his. Roy let out a breath and leaned back in his chair, his eyes resting on the clutter that was scattered about his desk.

"Believe it or not, Fullmetal, this is a proper mission. I know it seems silly to ask the military to watch over someone's child and keep him in check, but we have our reasons."

_'Yeah, you better,' _Ed thought, narrowing his eyes. "Such as?"

"The wizarding world in Great Britain is currently under the threat of someone called Lord Voldemort. He is a powerful dark wizard who has recently come back to life and appears to be plotting something along the lines of world domination."

Ed had to fight the very powerful urge to start laughing. "Lord Voldemort"? "Dark wizard"? He bit down on his tongue and stared at the floor. Colonel Mustang didn't seem to notice.

"Efforts are being made to stop him and his followers now. It is, however, difficult to determine who amongst the people are his allies. It seems as though they are good at hiding themselves. But... we do happen to have a lead."

He was done holding back his laughter, but now Ed was getting bored. Ed shifted his weight onto his prosthetic leg, already tired of standing. He glanced briefly at the couch just behind him, wishing he had opted to sit there rather than stand at strict attention. Then he looked back at Colonel Mustang, scratching the back of his neck and grumbling his annoyance under his breath.

"What's the lead?"

"The boy mentioned in the file, Fullmetal," Roy said.

He tapped one gloved finger on the envelope and pushed it back, gesturing for Ed to pick it up. Ed looked at the envelope sternly for a moment. He had already glanced through some of the papers, just to get the basic gist of the assignment. He didn't care enough to actually read through the report.

"His father was one of Voldemort's followers, one of his immediate subordinates. He was recently captured. But that doesn't mean that his family isn't somehow involved in this war." Here Roy raised his eyes and his tone became even more solemn and firm. "The boy needs to be watched."

"So he gets his very own babysitter, imported straight from the military of Amestris," Ed muttered, rolling his amber-colored eyes in annoyance. "That still doesn't explain why _I _got picked."

A smirk hinted at the corners of Roy's lips. The colonel looked up at Edward and leaned forward on his desk. A shiver ran up and down Ed's spine at the gesture. There was something about the look in his eyes that Ed _definitely _didn't like.

"Undercover work, Fullmetal," he said. "He's still a kid, even if he _has _abruptly become the head of the family. The best place to watch over him is at his school."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "School...?"

He hadn't gone to school since the day he and his younger brother had tried to transmute their mother. Ed had gone straight from being an elementary school student to a dog of the military. It wasn't like school ever changed, so Ed could definitely expect it to be just as boring as he remembered it. But more importantly, Edward Elric was _way _too smart for school.

Roy only nodded. "Yes. He goes to a private magic school: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now-"

"Oh no," Ed growled. He knew too well what was coming next and he didn't like it at all. "You're not sending me on this stupid mission because of the whole school thing, are you?"

Colonel Mustang smirked. "Well, you've just saved me some breath, Fullmetal." Ed twitched. "You are to be enrolled at this Hogwarts school to keep watch on the boy. I have already spoken to the headmaster and arranged for someone to get you the materials you need."

"I don't believe this," Ed muttered, folding his arms over his chest.

Roy attempted to organize some of the paperwork on his desk as he rose to his feet. "In addition, your younger brother can't go with you. He will have to remain here at headquarters."_  
_Ed suddenly looked horrified. "Whaddaya mean Al's not goin' with me! Of course he is! He always does!"

"Not this time, Fullmetal," Roy said, grabbing the envelope and shoving it into Ed's hands. "I'm afraid he would be too conspicuous."

"You've gotta be kidding!" Ed shrieked. "Then reassign me!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Roy went on calmly. "After all, there aren't many people enlisted in the military who are quite as small as you are."

Ed snapped. "WHO'S SO SMALL THAT YOU NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO ACTUALLY SEE HIM?"

"A little schooling will do you good, Fullmetal."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

Before he really knew what was happening, the doors opened and Edward suddenly found himself pushed into the hallway, tumbling straight into the opposite wall with a pained yelp. His younger brother Alphonse looked up at him in surprise, sheets of metal grinding against one another with the movement. He stood, rising to his full armored height of about eight feet and moved quickly to his older brother's side.

"Nii-san! Are you okay?"

Ed moaned painfully in response, rubbing his aching forehead where it hit the wall. He then jumped to his feet and spun around to face Roy, who was now standing in the doorway with his hands on the doors. He pointed one finger at the colonel in rage.

"WHAT WAS _THAT _FOR?"

"I will be escorting you to the manor," Roy said bluntly from the doorway. "The school year begins in three days. We leave in the morning."

He then slammed the doors shut. A click could be heard as they were locked from the other side. Ed charged the doors, banging his fists on their surface loudly.

"HEY! We're not through here!"

Were it possible for a suit of armor to sweat drop, Al would have done exactly that as he stared at the figure of his older brother. He wasn't the only one, either. Several officers that had been walking down the hall were now frozen in place, their eyes wide as they watched the small, blonde alchemist pound on the doors. After a few more moments of pounding on the doors with no response, Ed groaned and hung his head in bitter defeat. Everyone who had stopped in their tracks resumed walking, except now they moved a little bit faster as they stared fearfully at Edward.

Ed banged his head on the door one last time. "Al?"

"Y-Yes?"

"I hate this job."

* * *

"I should just walk out," Ed grumbled as he threw open the door to their room, Alphonse just behind him. "We should just get out of here before Colonel Mustang drags me to that bogus place."

"Actually," Al said cautiously, "the colonel already told everyone in the building not to let you leave."

Ed's eyes widened in anger. "_WHAT_?"

"I heard people saying something about making sure you stay in the building while you were in his office. Seems like he told everyone before we even got here."

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

He spun around on his heel and was just about to run back out the door when Al grabbed his arms and held him back. This only made Ed flail his arms and kick violently at the air as he was carried back into the room and dropped in a grumpy heap on his bed.

"Nii-san! Calm down!"

"Damn that Colonel Bastard!" Ed growled as he sprawled out on the bed and glared up at the ceiling. "I'm trapped. I have no say in this at all, do I?"

"Seems that way," Al said, stepping away from Ed now that he was significantly calmer. He shrugged his metal shoulders as he sat on the floor. "You should start reading the file, then."

The elder Elric started to protest against reading through the whole report, but, as usual, Al convinced him otherwise. So while Al stuffed several sets of Ed's clothes into his trunk, Ed grudgingly opened the envelope in his hands and fished out the papers. He shuffled through them quickly, scanning through the files a second time for anything of interest.

The stack of papers was thick: there were not only reports on the family and situation that Ed was to get involved in, but also histories and maps about the "wizarding world." Ed couldn't help but roll his eyes as he skimmed through. Though he had told Al that he would read the reports properly, he pretty much skipped through anything that didn't seem to be important. What Al didn't know wouldn't hurt him, after all.

"Dumbest... assignment... ever," Ed muttered under his breath.

Alphonse glanced over at Ed as he read through the reports, somewhat fascinated by the existence of real magic. Although he had laughed when Ed first explained everything to him, the idea of learning magic was intriguing. He eventually turned away with a sigh, grabbing Ed's auto-mail kit and packing it into his suitcase.

After a long, silent moment, Ed slowly lowered the papers. "Hey Al."

"What's wrong, nii-san?"

A wicked, scheming grin was on Ed's face as he turned to face his little brother. "Hide me in the armor and we'll get outta here."

Al jumped slightly in shock, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "But nii-san! Those are direct orders from the colonel! You'll get into a lot of trouble - maybe even lose your state license!"

Ed got off the bed and went over to Al, starting to undo the straps for his chest plate. "You just gotta hide me in your armor and walk out the front door."

The younger Elric fought Ed off. "But...!"

"Aw, come on. It'll be _easy_."

"But if they catch us...!"

A wicked glint could be seen in Ed's golden eyes. "If we don't get caught, we won't get caught."

"You're evil."

The state alchemist merely grinned.

"There are serious punishments for disobeying orders!" Al continued to protest. "Just go on the assignment, nii-san! Why are you dragging _me _into your evil schemes?"

"It'll be fine! Just hide me and make a run for it!"

"Go on the mission or I'll turn you in!"

"You'd betray your older brother!"

"If you use me to run away, then... yes!"

Ed twisted his face into false anger as he quickly thought about what to say next. There were a lot of different cards he could play in a situation like this. But his planning was cut short as Al turned away and slowly looked down at Ed's suitcase. To most people, deciphering the emotions of Alphonse Elric was near impossible thanks to the armor, unless it was obvious. But Edward knew everything there was to know about his little brother. This was Al getting depressed. Ed watched him for a moment longer, starting to feel guilty, and then sat back on the bed.

"Sorry, Al. I shouldn't have tried to drag you into-"

"I wish I could go with you, nii-san..."

Shocked, Ed slowly turned his golden eyes on Al. The shoulder plates of his armor slumped slightly and a sad sigh could be heard reverberating in his metal torso. After a moment Ed picked up the papers with a loud, annoyed groan.

"You're lucky, Al," he told him, doing his best to sound overly fed up. "All this stuff about magic, magic, magic. That's the stuff of fairy tales! What a waste of time! We're alchemists. Scientists! We don't believe in any of this stuff, right?"

Al just nodded his head sadly.

"I mean, I shouldn't even have to go," Ed went on, still trying to cheer his little brother up. He sat up and began to hastily stuff the papers back into the envelope. "You and I are way too busy searching for the Philosopher's stone. We don't have time for a mission like this, right? Yep, I'm goin' back to get myself reassigned right this second."

He had only just stood up when Al suddenly grabbed Ed by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Ed's eyes were wide as he slowly looked back at Alphonse in surprise.

"Al...?"

The tall suit of armor was silent for a moment, still holding onto Ed's wrist. Then, ever so slowly, Al looked directly into Edward's face. Even though Al didn't have a proper face, there was a pleading look in the red glow that seemed to serve as his eyes.

"Nii-san... Go."

Ed was stunned. "But Al..."

Al slowly released Edward from his grasp. "I want you to. I know the assignment is silly, but... Who knows? Maybe you can learn something there."

They stood in silence for a long time. Ed lowered his gaze to look at the envelope and papers that were in his hands.

"Besides," Al went on in a significantly cheerier tone, "I don't think Colonel Mustang will reassign you anyway. He's already made sure that you can't escape."

Ed could only stare at his younger brother. Maybe Al was right. After all, leads on the Philosopher's Stone always did come up in the most unexpected places. Ed shut his eyes and let out a sigh, giving in. He sat back down on the bed and pulled the papers back out.

"That's true, huh? Man... I never have won against you."

Al turned around slowly, what could be assumed to be excitement and surprise in his eyes. "So... you're going?"

With an exasperated sigh, Ed looked at his younger brother and grinned. "Not like I have a choice, right? Guess I should make the most out of it, then. I'll learn all that magic stuff in a matter of weeks. And when I come home, I'll teach you."

"That sounds pretty arrogant, nii-san," Al laughed.

"Not arrogant," Ed corrected him, a toothy grin on his face. "Confident!"

Al could only sigh in response.

After reading through several long pages about the wizarding world (half of which had been written on long sheets of annoying parchment), Ed came across a very unusual picture. It wasn't particularly strange in terms of what it was a picture of, but the fact that the image was animated like a movie had Ed stunned. He looked at the picture for a while longer, flipping it over once or twice, and then shrugged to himself, ready to move on.

"Hey Al," he called, extending the picture to his younger brother. "Check this out."

Al shut the trunk before he took the photo into his hands and gaped at it. It showed the face of a young teenage boy, probably not much older than Ed. He had platinum blonde hair that was neatly slicked back over his head. The boy merely stood in one place, his grey eyes wandering about an unseen environment. He smirked at the camera before allowing his attention to drift again.

"Wow!" Al exclaimed in awe. "Is this part of their magic?"

"Must be," Ed said with a shrug as he continued to scan the paperwork. "I was thinking about transmuting it, but I couldn't figure out what was being used to make the picture move like that."

"Hmm... So this boy must be...?"

"Yeah," Ed confirmed with a solemn nod. "That's him. The kid I'm supposed to watch. His stupid name is plastered all over these reports."

"So... what _is _his name, nii-san?"

Ed snorted as he flipped to the next page. "Draco Malfoy."

* * *

**Author's Note:** of course it's Draco. i'm sure you all knew that it would be Draco (it was pretty obvious from the beginning). that didn't come as a shock or anything, right? i mean, don't even deny that you knew this was coming. there's just no way you didn't even have an inkling of it.  
anyway, i got the idea for this somewhere in the middle of my FMA/HP crossover spree. i noticed that most of the stories don't have a lot of interaction between Ed and Draco, other than "metal fist meets pretty boy nose". so i thought i should try my hand at an FMA/HP crossover of my own... bwehehe... this'll be an interesting year. evil grin  
i had Al say "nii-san" (which is Japanese for "big brother") just because the english version doesn't sound right. oh, and there will definitely not be any shounenai pairings in this story. sorry to the fans of the stuff, but please don't let that deter you! 


	2. Malfoy Manor

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... HP crossover. kinda... sorta... atiny bitAU with HBP release. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **sigh I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **wooo! reviews:P i assume that means people like chapter 1? well, hopefully you'll like chapter 2 better. we finally get into Harry Potter's world. and about thepairings in this story... well, like i said before, there will _definitely **not **_be any yaoi/shounenai pairings in this story. i'm sorry if i sound horrible saying this, but i'm not really into yaoi. though there will be a few pairings here, they're not exactly prominent... and i wish to keep them a surprise for now.

that said, please enjoy chapter 2!

* * *

**Chapter Two  
****Malfoy Manor**

Roy and Edward had been in Britain for two days now. They spent the entire previous day wandering around London in search of the mysterious "Diagon Alley". The headmaster of Hogwarts had told the colonel that in terms of school supplies, everything would be taken care of. However, there was one thing that Edward would need to get personally, and that was a wand. When Ed first heard this he burst out laughing, but upon noticing the solemnity in Mustang's voice, he began to violently protest. He complained that having a wand would make him feel like the tooth fairy, and Ed definitely wasn't comfortable with the idea of feeling like something that didn't exist.

However, being forced to concede with maintaining his cover, Ed lost to Colonel Mustang. He was relieved to find that these wands were simply designed; nothing like what he had pictured (thick pink glow sticks with a big yellow star at the end). The process of getting a wand must have taken several hours; the old man that owned the store kept handing him a wand and then taking it away almost immediately. It didn't help that Ed was ambidextrous, which turned the answer to a simple request like "raise your wand hand" into a long moment of blank staring.

Ed finally received a wand; ten inches, mahogany with a demiguise hair. The owner said something about it being excellent for transfiguration, which only earned him another blank stare from the young blonde. Before Ed could ask the wand maker any questions, Roy paid the old man and pulled Ed out of the shop.

While they were in Diagon Alley, they bought several books on magical theory from the book store. Ed decided that he might need to start studying magic in order to keep up with the lessons at the magic school. Roy thought that it would be near impossible for Ed to catch up in a day, but the diligent and studious habits of the young alchemist could truly prove themselves in this situation. And they did, for Ed spent the remainder of the time they spent in London reading.

He was still reading as they drove to the Malfoy family estate in Wiltshire with their rented car early the next morning. The books he was reading told of abilities that went against everything that he knew to be true; the mere wave of a wand and a verbal command could do any number of things. There seemed to be no trace of equivalent exchange, the founding principle of alchemy. Needless to say, it irritated Edward to no end. Not only that, but Mustang had woken him up at the most ungodly of hours for the sake of the stupid baby-sitting mission. He couldn't help but be just a little bit grouchier than usual.

"Fullmetal, be on your best behavior," Roy ordered. "Remember, the Malfoy family is-"

"Extremely elitist, high class, and high maintenance," Ed drawled, his nose still buried in a book. "I know, I know."

The colonel snorted at his subordinate's attitude and continued to drive in silence. The entire area that they had entered seemed as though it had been preserved since the renaissance. Lush green trees grew all around the beaten path that they drove on. The grass grew tall, almost as high as the shrubbery and plants. It looked as though no one had maintained the place in a very long time. Roy began to wonder whether or not there really was a manor in this area, but his doubts were quickly pushed away when he caught sight of a grand mansion in the distance.

The house seemed similar to an old Victorian, only more medieval and castle-like. It was positioned at the top of a small slope, standing majestically amongst the backdrop of forest and sky. There were several tall spires on the roof and the rough stone walls were partially overgrown with vines and ivy. A stone balcony overlooked the front yard, and there were many narrow, arched windows lining the walls. The front yard seemed unnecessarily large, being a simple expanse of grass with a stone path leading to the front steps. There were a few statues of intimidating-looking men (probably ancestors of the Malfoy family) positioned in the yard.

Roy came to a stop by the metal gate that led into the yard. He examined the house for a moment before turning off the engine and getting out of the car.

"Fullmetal, put the book away. We're here."

Ed glanced up from the book and gave the colonel an annoyed, tired glare before turning to look at the house. His eyes grew wide in wonder when he saw the sheer size of the place and his jaw dropped visibly. He was too tired to say anything, but his throat managed to squeak out a noise of surprise.

The colonel chuckled softly as he pushed open the gate and began to walk up the stone path. "No dawdling now, Fullmetal. Hurry it up."

Quickly marking the page and shutting his book, Ed pulled himself out of the car and hurried to keep up with Colonel Mustang. "How long am I gonna be on this job?"

"However long it takes."

"Am I ever allowed to leave?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you never know what will happen or what the Malfoy boy will do."

"Sounds like baby-sitting, Mustang..."

"It's_ not_, Fullmetal."

Ed glared at Mustang for a moment before turning away with a snort. "I still say you should've gotten the major to do this. He's better at dealing with kids."

Roy looked amused. "So you admit that you're a kid?"

_'Shit.' _His golden eyes went wide. That one had slipped out. Probably because of his own exhaustion. "Shut up. You know what I mean."

True enough, Major Armstrong had looked after Edward and Alphonse Elric more than once before, but it wasn't like they were royal pains in the butt. They didn't cause _that _much trouble. And they definitely weren't kids anymore, according to Ed. Al had no problem being treated like a child, but that was mostly because no one treated him that way anymore because of the armor. Ed got it all the time because of his size. And he hated it.

By this time, they had reached the top of the stone steps and were standing in front the main door to Malfoy Manor. Roy used the heavy brass knocker on the door, making a thunderous knock that rumbled throughout the estate. He then cleared his throat and adjusted the tie that he was wearing. He was dressed in an ordinary suit so as not to raise any suspicion. Wearing a foreign military uniform under these circumstances was not the way to approach an elitist aristocratic family such as this. Edward, on the other hand, could have cared less about what they thought and stayed in his usual black outfit and red cloak. When the colonel tried to explain things to him, all he got was a glare and an aggravated, "Stuff it."

"Look alive, Fullmetal," Roy said as they waited at the door.

Though still annoyed and grumpy, Ed tried to force himself into professional mode. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to do so and settled with stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. Roy glanced at him and shook his head in disapproval. Ed caught the glance and the scowl on his face grew even sourer.

He was just about to snap at the colonel, but it was at that moment that the front doors opened. Both alchemists turned to face whoever stood in the doorway and were surprised not to see anyone at eye level. Standing where they would have expected to see a proper maid was a small, timid-looking creature with large bat-like ears and huge eyes. It seemed to be dressed in an old, torn-up pillowcase of some kind. The creature stared up at the alchemists in the doorway somewhat fearfully. The alchemists looked back at it in shock, finding themselves unable to do little else.

The creature pulled the door open a little ways more and stepped forward.

"Can the visitors be helped?"

Colonel Mustang pulled himself together as quickly as he could, clearing his throat. "Excuse us. We're here to retrieve Mr. Draco Malfoy. Is he in?"

The small creature's eyes grew wide for a moment. It then lowered its gaze and nodded its head, shuffling backward and heading deeper into the house. Roy looked back at his subordinate and nodded his head, raising a foot to step into the mansion. Before the heel of his shoe could touch the marble stone floor, a bone-chilling shriek escaped the throat of the small creature that opened the door. Roy froze instantly, his eyes wide in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Only those of pure blood are to enter the mansion!" it screamed, its voice shrill in horror as though a grave sin had been committed. "_Only purebloods_! The visitors must to stay outside!"

Ed almost burst out laughing until he realized that this rule applied to him as well. He wasn't sure what a "pureblood" was, but clearly the elitist attitude of the Malfoy family had permeated right through to the house's... servants. Roy slowly withdrew his foot and planted both feet firmly on the stone just outside. This seemed to please the creature, as it immediately stopped yelling. Then, looking shaken as ever, the small creature hurried away into the house, calling the names of its masters. The two state alchemists were left dumbstruck at the front door.

Roy was the first to recover. "Looks like there are creatures that even _you _can dwarf, Fullmetal."

The young alchemist's blood boiled over. "WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' AN ULTRA HYPER MIDGET?"

"I never said that..."

It wasn't long before an elegant looking lady with flowing blonde hair and pale skin came to the door. She examined Roy and Ed briefly, glancing them once over with her icy blue eyes before speaking.

"And you are...?" she asked coolly, her voice heavy with a British accent.

"Forgive me," Roy said quickly, giving the lady his most dashing smile. "You must be the lady of the house, Narcissa Malfoy. I must say I'm surprised to see you; you're even more beautiful than Dumbledore let on."

The faint hint of a smile and a soft blush came over the lady's cheeks at the comment. Ed rolled his eyes. He would never understand what Mustang had that so many women seemed to instantly fall in love with.

"It is my honor to be able to meet with you, milady. My name is Roy Mustang. You may simply call me Roy."

The lady's smile grew ever so slightly, as did the blush on her cheeks. "The pleasure is all mine. You may call me Narcissa."

Ed wanted nothing more than to gag. The display was a little more disgusting than he was willing to deal with so early in the morning. Narcissa clapped her hands briefly, obviously a gesture to summon someone to her side. With a twinkling of lights, another one of the creatures from earlier (a different one, judging by the towel wrapped around its body) appeared a few steps away.

"Yes, madam?"

"Call Draco down to the living room. And bring down his things for school."

The creature bowed low before snapping its fingers and disappearing. Lady Malfoy turned her attention back to her guests, a slight smile on her lips.

"Forgive the house-elves," she said sweetly, stepping to one side. "Do come in."

Roy smiled. "My thanks."

The colonel gestured for Ed to follow him inside. Screwing up his face in annoyance, Ed slowly followed after his superior officer. He allowed his eyes to drift, examining the house interior. Although it seemed somewhat poorly lit, the place was very richly decorated. The ceiling arched maybe fifty feet over the floor, which seemed to be made of the finest black marble. An exquisite silver chandelier dangled over their heads, the candles burning with a rich green flame that never seemed to burn out. There were two staircases along the circular walls that met in the middle, creating a sort of balcony across from the main doors. Directly to the right and left of the entrance were large arched doorways that led into different rooms. Everything from the floors to the ceiling was either forest green, silver, or black. It made the place seem like a very expensive dungeon.

"I received the owl from Dumbledore," Narcissa said as she led the way to the living room. She glanced back at Edward. "Is that the boy?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Roy answered. "This is Edward Elric. He's an exchange student from the school in Germany."

Lady Malfoy's eyebrows arched upward in mild surprise as she looked at the young blonde, considering him. Edward was distracted from the conversation, gazing sternly at his surroundings. His step was considerably slower than those of the adults as he took in everything he saw, thus putting him out of earshot.

"Well, that's a surprise," Lady Malfoy commented as she watched him. "I must say I was expecting someone of a much larger stature."

Ed twitched. He thought he heard someone insult his height.

"Is he really a sixth year, same as my son?"

Roy chuckled softly. "Yes, he is. Believe it or not. He's actually quite talented in his field. After all, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

"I suppose that is true, in some cases," Narcissa laughed. "But not for _my _son. I don't mean to boast, but Draco is a very talented wizard. We have high hopes for him."

"Is that so? Well, you're very fortunate to have such a boy."

The lady's smile grew as she gestured for Roy to seat himself while waiting for Draco to come downstairs as they entered the living room. When Ed trailed in a few moments later, she asked him to take a seat as well, but Ed politely declined. He remained standing, his eyes still wandering about the room.

Another house-elf appeared at the doorway carrying a silver tea-set. It laid the tray down on the coffee table, pouring a cup for Lady Malfoy and another for Roy. The lady reached over and took her cup into her hands and took a small sip. Roy did the same, thanking the house-elf as he did so. He couldn't help but notice Lady Malfoy wrinkle her nose as she looked at Edward, who was still looking around the living room as though he were searching for something.

"So where's the master of the house?" Roy asked, leaning back slightly on the black leather couch. "Don't tell me that a lovely lady such as yourself is tending to this luxurious estate all alone."

Narcissa looked back at Roy, her blue eyes wide in surprise. Ever so slowly, a forlorn look clouded her eyes. She looked down into her teacup as she took another sip.

"He's... not here. My husband, unfortunately... is in prison."

Roy looked down at his teacup for a moment. "Oh... I'm terribly sorry."

The colonel cast a meaningful glance in Edward's direction. The young alchemist turned slightly so that he could see Lady Malfoy, then looked back at Roy. Ed picked up one of the pictures on the table in front of him and held it up slightly so that Mustang could see it. It was a picture of a man with long white hair and a pale, pointed face and grey eyes. There was something dignified but pompous about the way he looked grimly at the camera. Ed then put the frame down and continued to look around, jamming his gloved hands back into his coat pockets.

"I worry sometimes that maybe Draco isn't taking it very well," Narcissa went on. "He admired Lucius so much, and I just... He's still so young, and for him to have to take on so much responsibility all of a sudden... I want him to finish his schooling and all that, and... I can't help but worry about him."

Ed froze, his eyes wide as a very vivid image of his own mother flashed in his mind. Slowly, he turned his attention to the conversation, no longer interested in the many pictures that were placed about the living room.

"Why is that?" Mustang asked.

Lady Malfoy didn't raise her eyes. "Let's just say that Draco has a tendency to get into trouble. He's just like his father. I worry that he may do something... rash. I just have a bad feeling."

Roy nodded his head slowly, taking another sip of his tea. "I understand."

"Are you just going to sit here all day?"

Everyone turned at the young, exasperated voice that came from the doorway to the entrance hall. There, with his arms folded as he leaned against the doorway was a teenage boy dressed in a nicely pressed casual suit. He was very tall; he had to be about six feet. There was an overall pretty boy look to him that rivaled Roy's. He had a pointed, pale face that seemed to be completely flawless. His platinum-blonde hair fell forward in a stylish manner, flopping slightly into his face. He had sharp silver eyes that were currently glaring distrustfully at the dark-haired colonel. His lips were pressed into a tight line, clearly agitated by the presence of these visitors.

As soon as Roy saw him, he placed the teacup on the coffee table and rose to his feet. "You must be Draco. My name is Roy Mustang. I-"

"I could care less what your name is," Draco snapped.

Ed had to grin at the stricken look on Roy's face. He thought maybe he could like this Draco kid. As he walked slowly toward the colonel, the grin was quickly replaced by a horrified frown. Wait. If this tall boy was Draco, then... The kid he was babysitting was _taller than him_? Ed's eyes were wide at the realization. He felt like he had just been squashed like a bug. This was sheer torture.

But it was only the beginning. Just then, Draco eyed the teenager in the red jacket and snorted. "Who's the midget?"

Ed saw red. "WHO'S SO SMALL THAT YOU WANT TO SQUISH HIM LIKE AN ANT?"

He would have sprung himself on the spoiled pretty boy fists first, but Roy had quickly grabbed hold of his collar and successfully managed to hold him back. Both of the Malfoys in the room looked shocked by this, especially since it was the first time Edward had said anything since entering the manor. Roy yanked Edward back before turning to the Malfoys with an apologetic smile on his face.

"I am terribly sorry about that!"

Lady Malfoy looked up at Roy, and returned his smile. "Oh, no. I should be the one to apologize. Draco knows better than to insult someone on the first meeting." She rose to her feet and walked over to Draco, placing her hands gently on his shoulders. "Draco, dear. Be nice to these people. They're guests, after all."

The young Malfoy looked bored, rolling his eyes. "Yes, mother, I know."

In the meantime, Roy pulled Edward to one side, lowering his voice so the Malfoys couldn't hear them. He tried to make it look more like a parent scolding a child instead of an officer to his subordinate.

"Get a hold of yourself, Fullmetal," Mustang hissed. "You have to control your temper. You can't just explode all the time, you'll cause a scene."

"Causing a scene will be worth it if it means I can sock 'em in the face!"

"You are _not _allowed to hit him. You have to stick with this boy. Those are your orders. Which means that you will have to get along somehow. You're not exactly getting off on the right foot here."

"Well, _he _started it!"

"I don't care who started it. Calm down!"

Ed snorted, stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning away. "Whatever."

Satisfied with this response (for now), Roy straightened and turned back to the Malfoys with a charming smile. "I do apologize for his behavior, Narcissa. He's just a little hot-headed."

Draco seemed to twitch when he heard this stranger casually call his mother by her first name. Lady Malfoy just laughed softly.

"That's quite alright, Roy." She then turned solemnly to her son. "You remember the message from Dumbledore I told you about?"

"Yeah," Draco muttered. "Some rubbish about an exchange student."

"Yes, well, that's him right there," his mother told him, gesturing toward Edward. The small blonde turned slightly at the mention. "Draco, this is Edward Elric. He's from the magic school in Germany. Remember to give him a decent tour of Hogwarts."

Draco looked at Edward with a sneer on his face, sizing him up. Ed glared back at him, his hands balled into tight fists in his pockets.

"You look a lot older than the picture I saw," Ed muttered at length.

"You're sure that it's not because you can't see this high off the ground?" Draco shot back.

A vein popped out on Ed's forehead. He clenched his fists tighter, doing his best to control his temper. A low, dangerous growl escaped from his throat. Roy stepped into Ed's path with his arms slightly raised, blocking him. Narcissa scolded her son lightly. She then summoned several house-elves and instructed them to take Draco's things to the car outside. The Malfoy heir went ahead, shooting an arrogant smirk back at Edward as he did so.

Lady Malfoy sighed worriedly as she watched him go before turning back to her guests. "Don't mind him. He's just... under some stress, that's all."

She then left the living room and hurried to catch up with her son. Only after Narcissa left did Roy and Ed follow. Ed lowered his gaze, staring at the marble floor as he walked. Roy glanced back at his subordinate, his eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"Something wrong, Fullmetal?"

Ed shook his head slowly. "It's just that... I was just wondering if... if I ever made _my _mom worry like that..."

Roy was somewhat surprised to hear such thoughts coming out of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Ed didn't look up to meet his gaze. This whole situation kept making him think of his mother, which was, needless to say, a very sensitive subject. It was so easy to forget that Edward was still practically a child. He had forced himself to grow up so quickly and to take responsibility that he and everyone he knew often overlooked such a simple fact.

The colonel sighed and patted Ed sympathetically on the shoulder. "If that's true... I suppose you could look at this as your chance to make amends."

A pair of golden eyes turned on Mustang in surprise. Colonel Mustang sighed tiredly again and began to walk away.

"Come on. Let's go."

Both state alchemists walked out of Malfoy Manor and headed to the car. Ed watched for a while as the house-elves transported a heavy looking suitcase and some kind of covered bird-cage into the trunk. The Malfoys had settled themselves into the backseat, a large fur coat over Narcissa's shoulders. Draco was staring out the car window, a blank glaze over his grey eyes.

As Ed went around the car to hop into the passenger's seat, he shot Draco a mean look, which he noticed. The blank look on his face was immediately replaced with an annoyed frown as he watched Ed get into the car and pull out a book. Draco's glare shifted targets when Roy got into the driver's seat and cast another charming smile in the direction of his mother. He twitched when he saw the girlish blush on his mother's face and he turned his attention back outside.

A few moments later, they were on their way back to London, to King's Cross Station. Roy and Narcissa made small talk the entire ride, practically flirting, which made both teenagers roll their eyes in disgust. Ed did his best to bury himself into his thoughts and the book he was reading, but the occasional outbursts of laughter from both adults was beyond irritating. He must have read the same line about fifteen times now. Eventually, Ed successfully shut himself down to the outside world and actually managed to read through several more books.

They arrived at King's Cross Station in good time and Narcissa complimented Roy's superb sense of direction. Roy merely laughed back, saying that he had been lucky this time. Ed smirked inwardly. He knew that Mustang had studied the maps of London the night before and had probably memorized every possible route to the station. Everyone then filed out of the car, grabbed their things, and took them into the station. Roy offered to carry Draco's things for them as they made their way to platform 9 ¾. Another one of Roy Mustang's brown nosing tactics. Anyone else might have been impressed by them, but Ed was just annoyed. Clearly, so was Draco as he immediately snatched his things back, muttering angrily that he could do it himself.

Platform 9 ¾ had been a little trick that Ed instantly despised. Running through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10? He would never have believed it if he hadn't seen several groups of people pass through ahead of him. When it was Ed's turn to run at the barrier, he took a deep breath and charged forward, closing his eyes and bracing himself for a rough impact. He was shocked to find himself in front of a large scarlet train that had "Hogwarts Express" embossed on its shiny surface when he opened his eyes. He never hit any wall. Ed looked around him and finally saw a large sign that read "Platform 9 ¾." He shook his head and trudged over to the train to keep up with Mustang and the Malfoys.

Draco nonchalantly said goodbye to his mother before boarding the train. Just as he was getting on, he shot one last rude look at Roy. When Roy finally noticed, the Malfoy heir narrowed his eyes and leaned toward him slightly.

"Touch my mother and die," he hissed into Roy's ear.

The colonel blinked, feigning innocence. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Young Draco Malfoy was not convinced and his gaze only turned icier as he slowly boarded the train. Of course, Ed had noticed what happened and immediately decided that he didn't care. In fact, he sort of hoped that Roy _did_ do something to Narcissa, just to have Draco do some kind of horrible curse or whatever on the colonel. Before Ed could get on, Mustang caught him by the wrist and held him back for a moment. Ed narrowed his eyes.

"What now?"

"Remember to send a report every other week," the colonel said in a low voice. "I'll send you an owl of your own so that you can keep in touch."

Ed nodded firmly. "Got it."

"And also... Don't forget your mission. Keep an eye on the Malfoy boy, and if he does anything out of the ordinary be sure to include it in your report. If necessary, you may speak directly to Dumbledore, the headmaster."

He nodded again, starting to get annoyed. "Anything else?" he muttered.

Colonel Mustang looked thoughtful for a moment. "Try not to get yourself killed. You're already enough of a pain without the paperwork."

Ed rolled his eyes and wrenched his arm away from his grasp. "Fine. There's no way I'd die before you anyway, you morally corrupt colonel with a god complex."

Roy was about to berate him for being disrespectful to a superior officer, but Ed had got on the train before he had the chance.

For a moment, Ed was worried that he wouldn't be able to find Draco now that he had slipped out of sight. Fortunately for him, the white-blonde had been stopped by a group of snobby looking people. Ed sighed in exasperation and grudgingly moved to join them.

Another fortunate thing: the snobs seemed to accept him into their little group. Draco gave him an annoyed sideways glance as he came up, but the pug-faced brunette girl that was clinging to his arm smiled slightly in Ed's direction. Her reason for doing so was completely beyond his understanding. One of the boys in the group, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes, made a comment about the symbol on the back of Ed's jacket. It apparently contributed to the mutual acceptance. Ed wasn't sure why the alchemy symbol (a cross with a snake wrapped about it and a winged crown) would put them at so much ease. If ever, he had expected it to cause a fuss and raise suspicion. Strange.

After they all introduced themselves, they walked down the corridor in search of a private compartment. Ed already knew that he wouldn't like these people, but he hid his disgust very well. On the way, two other teenagers squeezed past them, a girl with bushy light-brown hair and a red-headed boy with freckles. Everyone suddenly fell silent and glared, some of them casting expectant looks at Draco. Clearly, Malfoy was their little leader. Ed couldn't help but notice the daggers that Draco and the red-head were glaring at one another. However, there seemed to be a slight change in his grey eyes when Draco looked at the girl. Ed couldn't quite put a finger on it. After a moment, Draco snorted and threw a rude hand gesture at the teenagers as they passed. The red-head looked mildly confused, but he and the girl continued on their way regardless.

As soon as they found a compartment, they settled in as though it were their own house. The chubby boy with the stupid face and the one with the pudding-bowl haircut (Ed had already forgotten their names out of disinterest) sat next to each other on one bench. The black boy with high cheekbones shoved them to the side, making room for himself. Ed seated himself by the window on the opposite bench and the brunette girl sat next to him, which didn't fail to make Ed uncomfortable. Draco stretched himself out on the same bench, placing his head in the girl's lap as Ed was shoved against the window. The girl looked down into Draco's face somewhat affectionately, stroking his hair.

Ed grimaced as he adjusted himself in the seat, trying to find a way to remain comfortable while the royal pain in the ass stretched out as though he were on a bed. He was lucky to be so small. Ed's eye twitched when he realized what he admitted to himself. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, wanting to scream.

* * *

The Hogwarts Express then started to pull out of the station. Hundreds of parents and assorted family members waved goodbye to their children. Among them was Narcissa Malfoy, intently watching the train as it pulled away and clouds of white steam billowed out of its chimney. Standing next to her was Roy Mustang, a solemn expression on his face. He stood out amongst the tear streaked faces of the other parents as they frantically waved goodbye to their children for the year. 

It wasn't long before the train began to pull out of sight and the crowd of loving parents began to dissipate. Narcissa sighed and turned to go, Roy at her side. As soon as they both got into the car, Roy turned in his seat to look at the lovely Lady Malfoy.

"So where can I take you for some tea?" he asked with another dashing smile.

Narcissa smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note:** ahh, Ed's initiation into the magical world. ...sorta.about Ed's hand proficiency... i know he punches with his right arm, but i noticed that he writes and eats with his left, so i figure he's ambidextrous. i was at a total loss for a description of Malfoy Manor, so i just went with a random image that popped up. my issues with Narcissa were similar... yes, Roy is a shameless flirt. :P and Ed and Draco are _so much fun _to write about. so similar and so different... absolutely fascinating.


	3. The Serpent Club

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_by hikaranko_

**Summary:** Edward Elric has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Everyone else calls it undercover work. To Ed, it's babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do NOT own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would so rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **okay, _now _we start getting into some book stuff. enjoy! and please please _please _review! you guys have to tell me how I'm doing as an author! _(puppy dog eyes)_ thanks for all the reviews so far! i love you guys... XD

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* * *

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**Chapter 3  
****The Serpent Club**

Edward Elric was still pissed.

He couldn't be bothered to keep track of how long they had been on this stupid train. The Zabini kid had been called away by some professor a while ago and still hadn't come back. Draco and one of the dim-looking boys were inventing theories as to why any Hogwarts professor would want to talk to Zabini of all people.

Their conversation made it easier for Ed to remember their names. Thanks to that professor, he now knew that Blaise Zabini was the tall black boy. He had also caught the names Crabbe and Goyle which obviously belonged to the idiot duo, but he wasn't sure which one was which.

The girl next to him, Pansy Parkin-something or other, had been trying to talk to Ed for quite a while now. Every now and again she'd stop stroking Draco's hair and fiddle with Ed's braid, which only added to his foul mood. He'd never hit a girl in his life, but this one was _really _pushing it. The last thing Ed wanted to do was to have a conversation with any of these people. He had answered all of her questions so far with a glare and was constantly swiping her hand away, but that obviously wasn't deterring her. It was becoming clear that she wouldn't stop until he gave her a straight answer.

"Your name is Edward, right?" she asked for the thousandth time. "You've got _really _beautiful hair, Eddy."

His eyes went wide as he stared out the train window. "Eddy"? Had she just seriously called him "Eddy"? There wasn't a single soul in the world - no, in the _universe_ - that called him "Eddy", and he wasn't about to let this annoying socialite start. He slowly turned his head to look at her, anger and hatred aflame in his amber-gold eyes.

"Don't... call me... 'Eddy'..." He practically growled the words out.

Pansy just smirked slightly. Ed blinked at the expression on her face. He didn't think he was going to like this.

"Oh, alright then. So where are you from, Eddy?"

Ed's eye twitched. "Hey! What did I just say?"

"You don't sound like you're from anywhere nearby. Your accent, I mean."

He realized now why she was smirking. Pansy had successfully gotten a response out of him, and now he would be obliged to start talking. All eyes were suddenly on him, except for Draco's since he didn't care. Ed looked at them all, somewhat horrified that he had been tricked into the conversation. He wished that his little brother was with him. Al was the one who could deal with frustrating people like them. It was all Ed could do to keep himself from exploding. Left with no choice but to say something, Ed took a deep breath and picked his words carefully.

"I'm, uh..." What did Mustang say? "I came from the magic school in Germany."

"Really? But you don't quite sound German, either."

Ed laughed nervously. "Yeah, well... I grew up in Amestris."

One of the idiots looked confused. "Where's Amestris?"

He had to think about that one. Ed himself wasn't quite sure where Amestris was in relation to Great Britain. "It's... kinda far away from here."

Now Draco decided to speak up, his eyes shut as Pansy continued to stroke his hair. "You're awful short for a sixth year."

Ed twitched. His hand balled into a fist. _'Control yourself! The mission! No exploding!'_

"Sixth year?" Pansy echoed in surprise. "I thought he was a first year!"

Oh, pain!

"No, he's a sixth year, Pans, same as us. He's just a little 'vertically challenged. '"

Oh, agony!

Crabbe/Goyle laughed. "That's really weird! He's just a little guy!"

Oh, the insult to injury!

Pansy turned back to Ed, who was doubled over as though he had been punched in the gut. He was clenching his fist so tight that the material on his glove looked like it was about to rip. They would rue the day they crossed Edward Elric. Yes, as soon as this mission was over…

"So you're an exchange student? Do you know what house you're in?"

He looked back up. "House?"

"You don't even know about the houses?" Pansy asked in shock, her voice dripping with disdain. "How did you even get_ accepted _to Hogwarts?"

It was official. Ed _really _didn't like these people. But if they were Draco's friends, he was going to have to endure them. This mission was officially the worst one he had ever been on.

"That annoying Mustang bloke said something about him being talented," Draco said dryly. "But I wouldn't put any value into that wanker's words."

_'Normally, neither would I,' _Ed thought bitterly, _'but he was talkin' about _me!'

Pansy sighed. It seemed as though she no longer cared very much about Edward, but since she had started the conversation, she had to go on.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor."

Ed nodded his head as he listened and the information sank in. He was starting to remember seeing this somewhere in that thick file he'd been given. He mentally scolded himself for forgetting.

"Ravenclaw is full of swots and Hufflepuffs are all just oddballs," said the Crabbe/Goyle with the comic book.

"Gryffindor's the worst," Draco drawled, his voice heavy with disgust. "Everyone in there is a total goody-goody, like Potty and his band of merry losers. And the place is _crawling _with Mudbloods. It's a disgrace."

Ed nodded again. "So I guess you guys are all...?"

"Slytherin," the entire group said proudly in unison.

"I sure hope you get into Slytherin, Eddy," Pansy said, extending a hand to push Ed's bangs out of his eyes. "Really, Slytherin is the only way to go to Hogwarts."

The young alchemist glared, moving his head to avoid Pansy's hand. "I told you not to call me that." He then turned to look out the window. _'I sure hope I _don't_. Being housed with these elitist freaks would make me rot from the inside. But...'_

"I reckon he will," Crabbe/Goyle told Pansy. "Remember the symbol with the snake on his coat that Zabini pointed out? That's a sign of it right there!"

This seemed to raise their spirits a little and they began to congratulate him. Ed gave them a fake smile. He knew that everything had probably been arranged for him to be wherever Draco was. It was frustrating and annoying, but all of this had to have been planned to the last detail in order for the mission to succeed.

Just then, the door to the compartment clattered open. Everyone's eyes moved to the doorway as the Zabini kid tumbled inside, toppling over sideways into either Goyle or Crabbe's lap. Whichever one of them it was, he was definitely not happy.

"Get off of me, you wanker!" he snarled.

Zabini snarled back, and then he and the idiot were snarling into each other's faces. Draco raised himself slightly with a shout as Pansy merely rolled her eyes. Ed snickered to himself, partly amused by the display. Then suddenly, he noticed something flash through the air. His eyes widened for a moment when he saw it. He thought he saw part of a shoe whip upward and then vanish.

Whichever idiot had ended up with Zabini in his lap slammed the compartment door shut and flung the boy off of him. Zabini pulled himself back up and collapsed into his seat looking ruffled. The other idiot returned to his comic, which he had abandoned briefly after the conversation with Ed had started. Draco laid back down into Pansy's lap, allowing the brunette to continue stroking the sleek blonde hair from his forehead. Ed continued to stare out the window, his thoughts lingering on that piece of shoe he had seen fly through the air. He couldn't help but wonder what it could have been. It had to be some kind of hallucination.

"So, Zabini," said Draco, "what did Slughorn want?"

"Just trying to make up to well-connected people," Zabini replied, still glowering at the idiot he had been having the snarling contest with earlier. "Not that he managed to find many."

A sour look marred Draco's features. He clearly wasn't pleased with this information.

"Who else had he invited?" he demanded.

"McLaggen from Gryffindor..."

Malfoy looked thoughtful. "Oh yeah, his uncle's big in the Ministry."

"Someone else called Belby, from Ravenclaw..."

Pansy suddenly looked offended. "Not him, he's a prat!"

"And Longbottom, Potter, and that Weasley girl."

At this, Draco sat up very suddenly, knocking Pansy's hand aside. "He invited _Longbottom_?"

"Well, I assume so, as Longbottom was there," said Zabini indifferently.

"What's Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?"

Zabini just shrugged, leaning back into his seat casually. Ed hadn't recognized any of the names, nor did he really care, but he continued to listen to the conversation. Part of spy work was sifting through the useless information for something of value, after all.

Draco sneered. "Potter, precious Potter, obviously he wanted a look at 'the Chosen One.'"

Ed's eyebrows came together. "Potter"? "The Chosen One"? Both of those terms seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He was going to have to take another look at those files once they arrived at the school.

"But that Weasley girl! What's so special about her?"

"A lot of boys like her," Pansy said, watching Draco out of the corner of her eye for his reaction. "Even _you _think she's good looking, don't you, Blaise? And we all know how hard you are to please!"

Zabini scoffed. "I wouldn't touch a filthy blood traitor like her whatever she looked like," he said coldly.

Pansy looked pleased with Zabini's answer. Draco then sank back across her lap and she once again ran her fingers through his hair.

"Well, I pity Slughorn's taste," Draco muttered. "Maybe he's going a bit senile. Shame, my father always said he was a good wizard in his day. My father used to be a bit of a favorite of his."

Ed had to roll his eyes. What was with this kid and his father? Narcissa had mentioned something about how Draco admired his father a lot, but _this _was just plain ridiculous.

"Slughorn probably hasn't heard I'm on the train, or-"

"I wouldn't bank on an invitation," said Zabini. "He asked me about Nott's father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he'd been caught at the Ministry he didn't look too happy, and Nott didn't get an invitation, did he? I don't think Slughorn's interested in Death Eaters."

Malfoy suddenly looked very angry, but managed to force out a humorless laugh.

"Well, who cares who he's interested in? What is he, when you come down to it? Just some stupid teacher." He yawned ostentatiously. "I mean, I might not even be at Hogwarts next year. What's it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?"

Here Ed turned slightly so that he could see Draco out of the corner of his eye. What did he mean by that? Back at the manor, Narcissa said that she wanted Draco to finish school. She had said it so worriedly that clearly education for her son was high on the priority list. There was no apparent reason for Draco to not return to school next year...

Pansy suddenly looked horrified, pulling her hands away from Draco's hair at once. "What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?" she asked him indignantly.

"Well, you never know," said Draco with the ghost of a smirk on his face. "I might have... er... moved on to bigger and better things."

Ed looked over at Draco, still somewhat confused. What was he talking about now? Did this have anything to do with that Lord Voldemort guy? He stared at Malfoy for a moment as though he could find the answers to his questions written on that smug pretty boy face of his. He had to admit that he hadn't been expecting to hear anything like this so soon.

The two idiots were gawking at their little ring leader; apparently they hadn't even been thinking about moving on to bigger or better things. Ed laughed inwardly. They probably couldn't even imagine living the next few days without Draco around. Zabini had also allowed a look of curiosity to mar his haughty features. Ever so slowly, Pansy resumed stroking Draco's hair, dumbfounded.

"Do you mean... _Him_?"

Ed's eyes darted from face to face. "Him"? Did he know what that meant?

Draco shrugged. "Mother wants me to complete my education, but personally, I don't see it as that important these days. I mean think about it... When the Dark Lord takes over, is he going to care how many O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s anyone's got? Of course he isn't..."

A small wave of relief washed over Ed. He _did _know who they were talking about. And this conversation was undeniably interesting. It was exactly what he needed to know! With any luck, Draco would reveal everything right there and then. Then Ed could go home nice and early to resume his search for the Philosopher's Stone with Al.

"It'll be all about the kind of service he received, the level of devotion he was shown."

"And you think _you'll _be able to do something for him?" asked Zabini scathingly. "Sixteen years old and not even fully qualified yet?"

"I've just said, haven't I?" Draco snapped. "Maybe he doesn't care if I'm qualified." Then his voice suddenly became very quiet. "Maybe the job he wants me to do isn't something that you need to be qualified for."

Then he stopped talking, leaving his cronies in a state of surprise and shock. Pansy was looking at him as though she had never seen anything so awe-inspiring. Ed, on the other hand, mentally cursed his luck. Typical. Draco hadn't revealed everything he knew about Voldemort. But on the bright side, Ed knew that they were on the right track. It was obvious that Draco Malfoy was a definite lead.

"I can see Hogwarts," Malfoy said, pointing out of the blackened window. It was apparent by the look on his face that he had enjoyed the effect he had created. "We'd better get our robes on."

Everyone in the compartmentstood and reached for their trunks that had been placed in the overhead compartments. Somebody's trunk seemed to hit something as they swung it down and what sounded like a pained gasp was heard. Both Ed and Draco glanced up at the luggage rack, frowning. After a while, Draco seemed to dismiss it as his own imagination and continued to pull on his robes like everyone else. Ed, on the other hand, continued to stare in the direction it had come from, searching the luggage rack for anything out of place. When he didn't find anything, he looked back out the window.

Apparently, what Draco had referred to as their "robes" was some kind of Hogwarts school code for "uniform"; one word that Ed had never liked to hear. He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at the large black robes that everyone in the compartment had pulled on. They gave Ed strange looks when he never got up to change and remained in his usual outfit. He promptly ignored them and kept his eyes fixated on what was outside of the train. Edward Elric doesn't wear uniforms.

It wasn't long before the train came to a stop. Crabbe/Goyle threw the door open and muscled his way out into a crowd of younger students. He punched a few of them aside, making way for the rest of their little Slytherin gang as they hurried to get off the train. Ed slung his trunk over one shoulder, cursing how heavy it was. He probably shouldn't have bought so many books. They practically filled his trunk to full capacity, leaving very little room for his auto-mail maintenance kit. He'd been forced to buy another trunk for his clothes, even though he didn't have much to fill it.

Ed got out of the private compartment with Pansy just behind him. She stopped at the doorway and turned to look at Draco, holding one hand toward him as though hoping he would take it.

"You go on," Draco told her. "I just want to check something."

Pansy looked a little disappointed to hear him say that. She glanced at Ed then slowly turned on her heel to follow everyone else off the train. Ed watched her go for a moment and was just about to follow her when he noticed Draco shut the compartment door. He froze, turning to look at the door suspiciously. The Malfoy kid might have been able to shoo Pansy away, but there was no way he was fooling Ed.

He slipped into the next compartment, shutting the door behind him. Ed seated himself on the bench that shared a wall with the Slytherin room. He clapped his hands together and pressed them against the wall, hoping that whatever answered the prayers of atheists would allow the blue light of his transmutation to go unnoticed.

Having made a nice little peep hole through the wall that would allow him to both see and hear what was going on, Ed grinned at his own genius. He then made himself comfortable as he played his little spy game.

His eyes went wide when he saw what was going on. Lying on the floor, frozen into a very uncomfortable looking position, was another teenage boy. He had dark, messy hair and wore a pair of round glasses. And Ed couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a lightning shaped scar somewhere on his forehead. The boy could do nothing but stare up at Draco, who just smiled broadly at him as he lay helpless on the floor.

"I thought so," Draco said jubilantly. "I heard Goyle's trunk hit you. And I thought I saw something white flash through the air after Zabini came back..."

So Ed hadn't been hallucinating after all! He looked the boy on the floor once over and noticed his white trainer shoes. So this kid had been spying on them? Ed smiled to himself, amused by his unwavering bravery. It took guts to crawl up into the luggage compartment in a room full of enemies, just to get a little bit of information. Yes, Ed understood that kind of situation very well.

"You didn't hear anything I care about, Potter," Draco continued, sounding somewhat bored. "But while I've got you here..."

Suddenly, Draco's foot descended, hard, on the poor kid's face. Ed winced when he heard the sound of cartilage cracking. Blood spurted across the floor. A hateful look could be seen on Draco's face as he looked at his enemy.

"That's from my father. Now, let's see..."

He looked about his surroundings and then dragged a cloak out from under the boy's paralyzed body. Draco threw it over him. Ed gasped when he saw the figure of the kid disappear beneath the cloak. Malfoy chuckled softly.

"I don't reckon they'll find you till the train's back in London," he said quietly. "See you around, Potter... or not."

Draco laughed softly again as he exited the compartment. Ed could have sworn that he purposely stepped on the kid as he left. As soon as the door to the compartment shut behind Draco, Ed clapped his hands again and fixed the holes he had made in the wall. Grabbing hold of his trunk, Ed headed into the compartment where the kid had been left behind.

Ed stood in the doorway for a moment, not wanting to step on the spy by accident. He looked both ways down the corridor as he dropped his trunk. Carefully, Ed felt around on the floor for the cloak that Draco had laid over him. As soon as he felt it beneath his gloved fingers, Ed yanked the cloth away, revealing the paralyzed dark-haired kid underneath. After examining the cloak briefly, Ed tossed it to one side and moved around to look the boy once over.

"Damn," Ed muttered, wincing sympathetically at the sight of the boy's broken nose. "That was a pretty harsh thing to do."

He then went back to his trunk and pulled out a book of spells. As much as he hated to admit it, alchemy wasn't going to help him here. He grabbed his wand (which he had simply stuffed into his trunk) and sat back down on the floor near the boy. Ed scanned through the pages for some kind of reversing spell that he could use. The boy on the floor seemed to be giving Ed a strange look.

"Hey, back off," Ed snapped when he noticed. "I'm an exchange student. I'm new at this stuff."

Were he able to, the kid would have rolled his eyes as Ed continued to scan through the pages. After a moment, he found the spell he was looking for. He gulped as he readied his wand in his left hand and hoped that he would succeed as he cast the counter spell listed in the book. With a flash of light, the boy suddenly slumped to the floor, no longer completely immobilized. He groaned and spat out some blood as he tried to steady himself. Ed examined his wand for a moment, confused by how easily he had succeeded with that spell. He then put his book and wand to one side and helped the kid sit up.

"Man... Wish I could do something about your nose... You gonna be okay?"

"Eh… pis… Epis… key…"

"Huh?"

"E-Episkey," the boy murmured softly, one hand under his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "It's a... spell…"

Ed reached back, taking his wand in hand and quickly thumbing through the book for "episkey." He cast it as soon as he knew how, and was amazed to see that the boy's nose was no longer broken. Ed gaped at his wand for a moment before packing it away, partly frustrated that he had no idea how the fool thing actually worked. The boy wiped some of the blood from underneath his nose. He adjusted his cracked glasses as he looked at Ed in surprise.

"Why did you help me? I thought you were one of Malfoy's friends."

"Huh?" Ed blinked. He definitely wouldn't consider himself one of Draco's friends, but... he had a cover to maintain. "Well, yeah, but... I couldn't just _leave _you there, could I?"

The boy just stared at him, his green eyes wide. He then laughed softly. "You're not at all like the rest of his lackeys," he said. "I'm Harry Potter."

"Edward Elric," Ed said with a smile. "Call me Ed."

For a moment Harry looked confused, but he quickly laughed it off. This in turn confused Ed.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Harry laughed, shaking his head in dismissal.

Just then, someone could be heard running up and down the corridor. "Mr. Elric! Mr. Elric, are you here?"

Ed rose to his feet and moved into the doorway. He poked his head out into the corridor, his eyes wide in surprise. Further down the corridor, looking thoroughly confused and stressed out, was a young woman with short, mousy brown hair. She had a pale, heart-shaped face that was currently distorted by the stress as she spun around several times in place, running her hands through her hair.

"Edward Elric!" she called out, clearly exasperated.

"Yeah?"

The young woman whirled around to see where the voice had come from and then quickly jogged down the hall to reach him. She stopped a few feet away to catch her breath.

"You're Edward Elric?"

"The one and only."

She looked him once over, a confused look on her face. Ed could practically see into her head. He knew that she thought he was too small to be the person he was looking for. He clenched his right hand into a fist, preparing himself to defend his honor.

"Wow, I thought that you would be a professor or something, but... Oh well."

It wasn't a remark about his height, but he was still somewhat offended to hear that he had been mistaken for an old guy. She smiled at the baffled look on his face.

"Right, then. Well, Tonks is the name, and I've got a message for you. You have to go find Professor McGonagall right away and she'll take you up to see the headmaster."

Ed nodded in response. He picked up his trunk and headed for the nearest exit, the Tonks girl not far behind him. Just then, Harry stepped out of the compartment, wiping the blood from his face. As soon as he and Tonks saw each other, they began talking in low tones. Edward wondered for a moment what they were saying to each other, but quickly shrugged it off. What had Tonks told him to do? Look for someone named McGonagall, right? That seemed easy enough, but sooner or later he'd have to find Draco. He was supposed to be his main concern after all, and Ed had already gotten separated from him.

As soon as he remembered this, Ed slipped back into his foul mood. After what he had just seen, he wasn't up to pretending to try to be friends with Draco. He was going to have to deal with it, though. That was his job.

Oh, how he hated his job.

* * *

**Author's Note:**okay. i realize that Draco's little posse is kinda OOC, but i honestly could have cared less about their actual personalities. especially Pansy. i decided to just make her as annoying as possible. and yes, she thinks Ed is doable. because i think so, and therefore, so must she. XD i will bend her to my whim! ya want him but ya can't have him, Pansy! take that! feel my fangirl wrath! 

ahem. please review! your reviews are what tell me to continue :P


	4. Hogwarts School

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Edward Elric has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Everyone else calls it "undercover work". To Ed, it's babysitting.But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language. please review!

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter.It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. I'm nowhere near as cool as Hiromu Arakawa andJ.K. Rowling.That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **hehehe... thanks for all the reviews! but as for the 100+ some other people out there that I _know _are also reading... would it hurt to review once in a while:P

* * *

**Chapter 4  
****Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

When they had been simple words, finding one person to take him to the school's headmaster had seemed like an easy enough task. Once the process of finding that person actually began, it became a much more complicated matter. There were simply far too many people on the platform, all of them weaving through the crowd as they searched for familiar faces or headed toward the giant man near the lake who was yelling for the first years to gather. Ed was starting to think that finding that one person was impossible, and now he couldn't remember if this person was a man or a woman.

He was beginning to get desperate and frustrated with his situation. And that's when he saw them. Ed immediately stopped walking, his gaze and attention completely caught. Rigged up to several carriages that seemed to be taking the students to the school were some of the ugliest chimeras Ed had ever seen. They looked like skeletal black horses with huge bat wings. Ed's eyes grew wide, not quite sure what to think of the beasts. A part of him was absolutely horrified and frightened, while another part was simply awestruck.

"Mr. Elric?" a sharp voice cried out over the crowd. "Mr. Edward El - oh, pardon me - Edward Elric?"

The sound of his name pulled Ed's attention away from the creatures and he spun in place looking for who had called him. He cursed his inability to see over the heads of the students. Wishing that Al were with him for umpteenth time that day, Ed put his trunk on the ground and carefully stepped on top of it. This raised him a little less than two feet off the ground and gave Ed a wonderfully high view over the heads of the crowd. But it was just like Edward's luck that as soon as he had raised himself up, the crowd thinned as most of the students boarded either the boats or the carriages. Standing on top of his trunk was no longer necessary.

Now that the crowd was significantly thinner, Edward managed to find the person who had been calling his name. Walking purposefully through the crowd was a lady in emerald green robes and a black hat that could have come straight out of a child's picture book about witches. She had a prim look on her face as she searched among the remaining students through the square-framed glasses that were perched on the bridge of her long, pointed nose. Ed knew just by looking at her that she was a teacher, and, if stereotypes meant anything at all, a strict one at that.

She froze when she spotted Edward. She looked down at a slip of parchment that was in her hand, read it carefully, and then looked back at Ed. Then, apparently making up her mind, she put the parchment away and marched quickly and dutifully toward him. Ed wasn't quite sure what he should do. All his life he'd had bad luck with teachers. He didn't think he would be able to handle another teacher like his last one. He considered making a run for it, but there really wasn't anywhere to run _to_. Not to mention that she had already spotted him. Escape was futile. There was nothing he could do.

The lady stopped when she reached Edward, looking up into his face. She screwed up her beady eyes as she scrutinized him, studying the features of his face.

"Mr. Edward Elric, I presume?"

Ed gulped. It was glaringly obvious that this lady meant business. "Y-Yes, that's me. Um... Professor... McGonagall...?"

She nodded in response, still watching him carefully.

"Well, you meet the physical description, alright," she said softly.

Her gaze dropped slightly so that she was looking at Ed's feet. She looked somewhat annoyed when she noticed he was standing on top of his trunk. Some part of him was embarrassed to have been caught using his trunk to gain some height, but another part of him was proud that even for just a brief moment, he was taller than someone on the first meeting. After a moment the professor backed away, adjusted her glasses and turned on her heel.

"Get down off that trunk right this instant and come with me," she ordered.

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

He almost saluted the professor but quickly fought the urge. Ed hopped down from the top of his trunk, picked it up with both hands, and hurried to catch up with Professor McGonagall. He was about to ask her a question as he approached her, but she spoke before he could utter a word.

"So you are the exchange student that Professor Dumbledore told me about?"

Ed was so surprised that he completely forgot his question. "Oh, uh... Yes. I-"

"What are you doing carrying that trunk around?"

"I... What?"

The professor pointed to the trunk in Ed's hands. "Leave it with the rest of the luggage. The house-elves will take care of it after the feast."

"Oh, right."

Professor McGonagall shook her head in dismay while waiting for Ed to leave his trunk and come back. The initial shock of meeting such a stern professor was starting to wear off. Ed decided that he didn't quite like this lady. She scared him somewhat with her solemnity and sharp manner of speech. Not in the same way that Izumi Curtis scared him, but fear was fear. He noticed that she was getting into one of the carriages that were being pulled by the ugly chimera beasts and gave the creatures a wary look.

"Can you see them?" Professor McGonagall asked suddenly.

Ed spun around to look at the professor in surprise, his hair whipping into his face. "Yes, of course I can."

The professor looked shocked. "Oh."

"Why? What _are _those things?"

"They are thestrals. Only those who have..." She let her voice trail off and shook her head. "Never mind that. Now get in, get in. We've got to hurry. I still have to attend to the first years."

More confused now than ever, Edward was quickly ushered into the carriage and he took his seat by the window. As soon as the professor shut the door, the carriage lurched forward.

The professor remained silent throughout the ride. Every now and then she cast a few funny glances in Ed's direction, which he promptly chose to ignore as he stared out the window. Ed had to admit that the area the school was situated in was beautiful. There didn't seem to be any cities or towns nearby, and the lush green forest seemed to go on forever, only disappearing beneath a heavy, distant fog. He couldn't see straight ahead so he wouldn't know when they were approaching Hogwarts, but he didn't mind at all. The scenery kept him satisfied and peaceful.

Eventually, the carriage rattled to a halt and its passengers quickly filed out. Professor McGonagall moved quickly as she led the way into the school. Ed's step was considerably slower from surprise. He had seen a few images of what the school looked like in the file (elaborate and beautiful sketches of a castle atop a cliff overlooking a lake, since normal cameras apparently didn't seem to work) but nothing could have prepared Ed for the real thing.

The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a huge, rambling castle with a jumble of towers and battlements. Its mere size was daunting, and there was something almost frightening about the castle's overall look. It seemed like something out of an old Dracula movie. As Ed continued to look at the place, he began to notice that the castle should have been physically impossible to build. According to basic laws of nature and physics, Hogwarts Castle should not have been able to stand. And yet there it was, right before his very eyes. It must have had something to do with magic. As strange as it sounded, magic was the only logical solution.

Ed hurried to keep up with the professor, shaking his head slowly. He was rather disappointed in himself. He was actually starting to believe this magic stuff! There had simply been too many confrontations with it already that there was very little room to deny its existence. Ed looked down at his left hand, recalling when he had used those spells on that Harry Potter boy.

He had actually used magic. _Real _magic. And even more surprisingly, the spells he used had worked! But it still made no sense whatsoever. Ed couldn't make heads or tails of what exactly it was that he did to make the spells work. What had happened to the principle of equivalent exchange? He refused to believe that there was no such thing when it came to magic. Otherwise, why had so much been taken away from him and Al?

Professor McGonagall hurriedly led Edward into the grand castle and took him down several large, open hallways and up several sets of stairs. Ed was so distracted with his own thoughts that he hardly noticed his surroundings. The professor was very lucky; If Ed had taken any notice of anything at all, he would have stopped on several occasions to gawk at the castle's decorations. This would have slowed things down for her, and she was in quite a hurry. She gave the password to a stone gargoyle and waited patiently for it to move to one side and allow them through. Professor McGonagall then turned to Edward, gesturing to the stairs that had been revealed.

"Up these steps you'll find the headmaster," she informed him.

Ed's head snapped upward, pulling him out of his daze. He looked at the revealed staircase in shock, not knowing at all how he had gotten to where he was. Professor McGonagall pressed her lips into a tight line, looking up and down the corridor.

"Well, I'll have to leave you here then, Mr. Elric," she said with a nod of her head. "If you'll please excuse me. Now go on, the headmaster is waiting on you."

"Oh yeah, sorry."

With another firm nod, Professor McGonagall hurried back down the hall. Ed made a face at her as she left before entering the mysterious wooden stairwell that had been revealed to him. As soon as both his feet were planted firmly on the steps, the stairs began to move, carrying him upward in a spiral towards the headmaster's office. He wasn't sure how long he had been riding these steps, but Ed eventually reached the top and found himself face to face with a large door. Just as he was about to knock, the doors swung open by themselves and opened up into a large, cluttered office.

It was a large and beautiful circular room, filled with a wide variety of unusual objects, at least half (if not all) of which Ed had never before seen in his life. The walls were covered with portraits of different men and women, all of whom appeared to be asleep in their picture. There were a few bookshelves at the far side of the room that almost reached the ceiling, all of them filled with countless books. Ed found himself itching to raid the bookshelves. Books in the headmaster's office had to be loaded with all kinds of priceless information!

"Impressed, are you?"

Ed nodded dumbly in response, his eyes wide as he continued to stare at the shelves.

"I could loan you some if you like, Mr. Elric."

There were practically stars in his eyes as Ed whirled around. "Really?"

A round of soft laughter could be heard coming from the direction of the desk. Realizing for the first time that someone else was in the room, Ed stepped further into the office to see who was there. Sitting in a large, comfortable-looking chair behind a desk was a thin man, smiling down at Edward. Judging by the silver of his hair and beard, both of which seemed long enough to be tucked into his belt, the man was very old. He was dressed in long, heavy robes and a purple cloak. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle with youth, shining out from behind a pair of half-moon spectacles that rested on his long, crooked nose. His smile deepened as Edward stepped further into the office.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts," he said with a slight nod. "You must be Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

It felt like it had been a long time since Ed heard someone call him by his second name, even though the reality of it was that it only been about a day. Ed saluted the headmaster out of impulse, which solicited an amused chuckle from the old wizard.

"No need for that, Mr. Elric," he smiled. "That's a habit you'll have to learn to break while you're here. This most certainly isn't the military."

Ed dropped his arm to his side hastily, embarrassed. "Sorry 'bout that. And, uh, you can just call me Ed. Or Edward."

Dumbledore laughed. "Alright then. I believe I'll go with Edward, if that's fine with you." Ed nodded his head vigorously. The headmaster's smile grew as he gestured to one of the chairs. "Have a seat, Edward. I am to explain to you a few more details about your mission and your stay here. I'll try to do this as quickly as possible."

The young alchemist nodded again as he sat down. The headmaster began to pull out sheets of parchment, looking them once over before putting them to the side. Ed watched him for a moment, studying him. Although Dumbledore seemed cheerful and friendly enough, there was something else about him. It was clear, though Ed couldn't quite place why, that he was not someone to be messed with. And at the same time, he seemed to be immensely trustworthy. It was strange, but it was for that very reason that Ed instantly gained an enormous amount of respect for the old wizard. Which was a big deal, seeing as the only other person that Ed had any real respect for was Izumi Curtis.

Eventually, Dumbledore finished his task and turned back to Ed with a slight smile.

"Now then, I know for a fact that you've already met Mr. Malfoy and his friends. And, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, we have arranged for you to be in the Slytherin house with them."

Ed sighed inwardly, trying to hide his disappointment. A part of him had hoped that the guess he made on the train had been wrong just the once.

"You'll find your robes already waiting for you in the trunk in your room, along with your required school supplies. You'll also be staying in the same room as Mr. Malfoy." Here Dumbledore raised his eyes and his gaze lingered on Edward's right arm. "I suggest you be very careful about hiding your limbs, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist. Mr. Malfoy and his friends are not the type of people to sympathize with your condition. I've made sure to bewitch your mechanical limbs so that they are able to operate on Hogwarts grounds, by the way."

Ed's head snapped upward quickly, his eyes wide in shock. He gripped his arm in an almost protective manner. "How do you know so much about me, headmaster?"

Dumbledore gave Edward a meaningful look, raising his eyebrows as though to say "who do you think I am?" Then he smiled slightly and continued, pulling out some more parchment and sifting through them carefully.

"Be sure not to let anyone find out you're not a pureblood. Most Slytherin here are purebloods, and they're _very _proud of their heritage. And since you're going to be in Slytherin, well... Not a word. They would skin you alive. Also-"

"Uh, sir?" Ed interrupted cautiously. "I've been meaning to ask about that whole... 'pureblood' thing. Exactly what does that mean?"

"It simply means that they are born into a family of wizards and witches," Dumbledore answered. "The Malfoys, for instance. Everyone in their family is of magical heritage."

With a nod of his head, Ed leaned back into the chair. He remembered how the house-elf back at Malfoy Manor had shrieked at Roy when he tried to enter and how Draco had sneered something about Mudbloods being a disgrace when they were on the train. As he allowed the information to sink in, Ed released a heavy sigh. He regretted not reading through the reports more thoroughly. He reminded himself to make sure to read them again before going to sleep.

Dumbledore rose to his feet and moved around his desk. "I realize that this is a spy mission of sorts and you may have to do a bit of sneaking around, so in order for you to carry out your mission more efficiently, I'm going to provide you with this pass."

He handed Edward a folded slip of parchment. Ed took it from him carefully and unfolded it, examining its contents. It was a note signed by Albus Dumbledore that allowed him to be in the halls after curfew. Ed sighed in relief. He had no real problem with bending rules when he had to, but having this would help keep him out of trouble with the teachers. The headmaster walked toward Ed and gave him a hearty pat on the back.

"That should help you do... whatever it is that you may need to do. If there's ever anything else that you need, just ask. Like borrowing one of these books, for example."

Ed smiled as he carefully tucked the note away. "Thanks. I'll keep that offer in mind."

The old wizard smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Well then, that's enough of that," he said cheerily as he headed for the exit. "Come along then, off to the feast. Wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting, now would we?"

With that, they left the headmaster's office and made their way to the Great Hall.

* * *

Because of the briefing, both Edward and Dumbledore arrived at the Great Hall a few minutes late for the grand start-of-the-year feast. They entered through a back door that only professors used to get onto the platform. A few of the staff members that were seated at a nearby table looked over at them as they entered quietly. Professor McGonagall, who was currently standing next to a stool at the front with a ragged looking hat in her hands, looked over at the headmaster expectantly. Dumbledore looked at all of his staff members and nodded his head firmly as a gesture to proceed. A look of relief washed over McGonagall's face at Dumbledore's signal as she turned to face the rest of the Great Hall and the four long tables in front of her. 

"Now that the headmaster has arrived," she told everyone in a loud voice, "we may begin the sorting ceremony."

She then proceeded to call out names in alphabetical order, and each time a nervous looking eleven year-old would step up and have the hat placed on his or her head. The torn hat would then cry out the name of one of the houses (much to Ed's surprise), the corresponding table would cheer, and the kid would go sit with them.

Edward looked out into the sea of faces, searching for Draco and his followers. He found them at the table furthest to the right. Draco was watching the ceremony on the platform with a bored expression on his face. Pansy sat right next to him, her arm linked with his. Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle were sitting across the table from them. They were snickering to one another as they watched the ceremony, pointing at certain first years and then laughing amongst themselves at some joke they had made.

As soon as they noticed Edward standing next to Dumbledore, they began to nudge each other and point him out. Ed grimaced when he noticed that many other kids on different tables were doing the same. His presence was obviously drawing attention away from the seemingly all-important sorting ceremony that was taking place. He shifted his weight uncomfortably as he tried to ignore their stares, shoving his gloved hands into his pockets and pretending to watch the ceremony.

About halfway through, the large doors on the other end of the hall burst open. Many heads turned around to see who had just entered. Ed had to squint to make out their features. Two wizards, one of which Ed recognized as the Harry Potter kid from the train. His eyebrows came together in concern. Harry looked worse than he did when Ed left him. A look of suppressed rage marred his blood-stained face and Harry glared daggers after the other man as he made his way to the long table on the far left side of the room.

The other wizard was a tall, sour-looking man with greasy black hair up to his shoulders. He marched down the aisle toward the teacher's table with an air of slime and self-imposed superiority about him that Ed instantly disliked. He was reminded too much of some of the more corrupt military officers that he had come across in his travels. Many of the Slytherins seemed to be giving him approving looks as he passed them. Ed noticed that Draco made some comment to his followers and gestured to Harry's nose, which the man seemed to smirk coldly at as he passed. The professor stepped up onto the platform, giving Edward a suspicious look as he took his seat with the other teachers.

In spite of the interruption, the ceremony had continued as though nothing had happened. Once the last name was called and the respective first year was seated with the other Hufflepuffs, Dumbledore stepped forward, raising his voice so that everyone could hear him.

"Before we get on with the feast," he cried out to the masses, "allow me to introduce all of you to our newest student."

He turned to Edward and gestured for him to come forward. Ed looked at him as though he had lost his mind before obeying, slowly stepping forward. The way everyone's attention instantly became fixated on him, Ed would have guessed that a giant spotlight had appeared over his head. He had to resist the inclination to look up and check.

"This is Edward Elric," Dumbledore informed his students. "He's an exchange student from the school in Germany."

This caused a great murmur throughout the student body. Again, Ed shifted his position uncomfortably. Obviously, they didn't get many exchange students at this school. So much for remaining inconspicuous.

"He will be joining us here at Hogwarts as a sixth year."

That only made the buzzing in the Hall grow. Ed could have sworn he heard remarks about his height. He searched through the faces angrily, trying to find out who was insulting him. Finding that he would probably never know for sure, Ed merely swore vengeance on the entire student body.

Dumbledore then looked back at the professor with the greasy black hair. "Please take kindly to him, Professor Snape. He's been sorted into your house."

Ed's eyes grew wide. _'No fucking way.'_

Had he missed something? It had to be some kind of joke. The slimy, greasy wizard was the head of Slytherin house? Even though Ed wasn't quite sure what that meant, he was sure he didn't like it. He distrusted the man practically on sight! Then again, Ed was a spy. He could use this chance to keep tabs on this Snape character as well.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was shocked to hear this. Confused whispers could be heard from the Gryffindor table. They seemed to be saying something about the color of Ed's jacket... Ed noticed a mildly confused look on the face of one Harry Potter as he whispered something to the people around him.

The professor's eyebrows arched upward in surprise, though the sour look on his face didn't change much. Ed could see Draco's goons looking pleased to hear that he was going to be joining them, especially Pansy. In fact, many of the Slytherins seemed happy with the news. It was probably because of how much it seemed to bother Gryffindor. Many Slytherins turned to look at the other tables as though daring them to try and top Slytherin's acceptance of the first exchange student in Hogwarts history. A few of them were looking over at the Gryffindor table with wicked smirks on their faces.

Dumbledore gave Ed another pat on the back and gestured toward the Slytherin table. "Have a seat, Edward. The feast is about to begin."

Ed took a deep breath and walked toward the Slytherin table. He could almost feel the weight of hundreds of pairs of eyes as they watched him intently. Pansy seemed to be beckoning at Ed to sit with them. It was obvious that she was only doing so to show everyone that he was with Malfoy and his friends. A simple display of power over the others. Ed played along, his hands turning into tight fists in his pockets as he did so.

"Oh, Eddy, I'm so glad you're in Slytherin!" she said as he took a seat next to Zabini.

"Same here," he lied, a fake smile on his face.

"Congratulations on getting in," Zabini said, giving Ed a congratulatory slap on the back. "We Slytherins practically rule this school."

Ed had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Pansy leaned across the table and reached out to push some of Ed's blonde hair out of his face. He growled at her and swatted her hands away. She giggled annoyingly as she sank back into her seat, making Ed find her to be all the more loathsome. It wasn't long before Dumbledore's voice thundered over the Hall from the front.

"Let the feast begin!"

As soon as he said this, the table suddenly filled up with plates, utensils, and platters of every kind of food imaginable. In fact, they had appeared so suddenly that Ed practically fell out of his seat in surprise. Everyone nearby gave him a strange look except for Draco, who grinned mockingly.

"Had a bit of a scare there, pipsqueak?"

A vein popped out on Ed's forehead.

"Are you alright, Eddy?" Pansy asked.

Quickly pulling himself together, Ed straightened and cleared his throat. He considered apologizing, but decided against it. It didn't seem to him like these people really cared. And an apology would probably only give them something to laugh about later. Of course, Draco was practically laughing to himself already. Though not a sound escaped from his lips, Ed could tell.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told Pansy as he reached over and began to fill his plate up with food.

The dinner was simply fantastic. Every kind of food that Ed could possibly have wanted to eat could be found on the table. He had to continuously fight the urge to just stuff his face silly in order to avoid getting more strange looks from the other Slytherins. So Ed ate like a civil person, using his utensils properly. However, this didn't stop him from eating as fast as he could. He was definitely planning on having seconds. And thirds. And maybe fourths.

Several girls that were sitting next to Pansy suddenly leaned eagerly toward Ed, smiles on their faces. Ed tried to ignore them, assuming that they were going to bombard him with questions, but they were apparently quite content just looking at him. This only made him uncomfortable, and when he finally looked over at them to ask what their problem was they turned away quite suddenly, giggling to one another. Ed raised an eyebrow in confusion and continued to eat.

Eventually he had eaten his fill and Ed leaned back slightly with a contented sigh. Now that he was no longer buried with his thoughts of food and eating, he noticed that Draco and his friends were discussing something.

"He was practically asking for it," Draco told his cronies with a smirk. "As though I would really just let him get away. He thinks he's so clever with that bloody cloak of his. I saw right through it the moment he stepped into the compartment!"

"You're amazing, Drakey!" Pansy cooed, latching herself onto Draco's arm.

Draco's smirk only grew with pride. "So then I forced him out of hiding, if you know what I mean." A few Slytherins snickered knowingly. "Potter drops to the floor, stiff as a board, and that's when I get him." He then mimed the action of breaking his nose and everyone around him laughed except for Ed. "Then I covered him up with that precious cloak of his and left him there."

Everyone laughed heartily, clearly impressed and entertained by Draco's tale of cowardly victory. Ed just smiled as he listened, pretending to be just as amused as the others even though he disapproved whole heartedly. As soon as their laughter died down, Zabini leaned forward to speak.

"Hang on a moment... You paralyzed Potter and hid him from view, yeah?"

Draco nodded, shooting Zabini an annoyed look. "What did I just say?"

"But then how did he still manage to get back here?"

Ed flinched slightly. Were they onto him? He hid his eyes as a thoughtful silence fell over the group. After a moment, Draco calmly leaned back and shrugged.

"Well, not all plans are perfect," he said evenly.

"Some prat must've come in and tripped over him," Crabbe/Goyle suggested.

"Completely ruined the school year for us," Zabini said with a shake of his head.

"It would've been a nice change if Potter had ended up back in London."

"Yeah. I'd like to go a school year without him around."

Everyone then turned to Ed, who was peacefully sipping at his pumpkin juice with his eyes shut. He had successfully blocked out the rest of the world for the moment and was entirely oblivious to the intense stares the other Slytherins were giving him. Surprisingly, pumpkin juice was quite refreshing. Before the feast, Ed had never once heard of the stuff, but now it was quickly becoming one of his favorite things to drink.

"What do _you _think, Elric?" Draco asked him.

Upon hearing his name, Ed opened his eyes and looked up to meet everyone's stares. "Huh? About what?"

"About Harry Potter."

Ed looked from one Draco goon to the other. A part of him wanted to roll his eyes at their attempt to "sneakily" get information out of him. Well, they weren't going to get anything out of Edward Elric. He took another sip of his juice.

"Oh yeah, about him. Who is he?"

Everyone's eyes went wide and they fell into a shocked silence. Even Draco was looking at Ed as though he were insane.

"This is a first," Pansy gasped. "You don't know who Harry Potter is?"

"Well, not really," Ed said, putting a nervous smile on his face. _'I'm the "prat" that helped him out on the train, you elitist slugs.' _"I think I've heard his name once or twice, but I don't actually know anything about him."

A smile slowly crept onto Draco's face. "Good."

Ed raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why is that good?"

"The less you know about him," the grey-eyed boy told him mysteriously, "the better."

_'Weird kid,' _Ed thought to himself as he drained his pumpkin juice.

It was made clear at this point that dinner was definitely over as the tables cleared themselves off. Everyone turned to look back up at the stage, where Dumbledore had once again risen to his feet and stepped forward.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly.

He opened his arms wide as though he meant to embrace the entire student body. With the simple gesture, Dumbledore's sleeves fell back and revealed a blackened, withered right hand. Many students gasped in shock and horror at the sight, including several Slytherins.

"What happened to his hand?" someone whispered.

"How the bloody 'ell should I know?"

"That looks really bad..."

Ed frowned, staring at the dead looking hand. He mentally berated himself for not noticing it earlier. How had he missed something that obvious?

Dumbledore just smiled at his students and shook his sleeve over his injury, telling them not to be concerned about it. He then went on to welcome everyone back to Hogwarts and relayed a round of messages and other such notices. They didn't seem to be particularly important; something about somebody named Filch putting a blanket ban on items from some joke shop as well as some announcement for Quidditch enthusiasts. In other words, things that Ed had practically zero interest in. Eventually, Dumbledore turned his attention to the staff table.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year," he announced. "Professor Slughorn."

He gestured toward a short, round old man with a funny moustache. The professor stood up at the mention, raising a hand into the air. Zabini made a face as Crabbe and Goyle turned to him, snickering.

"It's your new best friend, Zabini!" they teased, nudging him in the sides.

Zabini smacked their arms away. "You better cut that out right now or live to regret it."

Ed smiled amusedly to himself before turning back to listen to Dumbledore. The old wizard turned to look back at his students as Slughorn sank back into his seat.

"Professor Slughorn is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions Master."

There was a ripple of surprise around the room. Clearly this came as a shock to everyone as the word "potions" was echoed all across the Great Hall. No one could seem to tell whether or not they had heard Dumbledore correctly. Even the Slytherins looked at one another in confusion.

"A new Potions Master?"

"What happened with Snape?"

"He obviously didn't get sacked. He's still sitting with the staff!"

Draco, Pansy, and the idiot duo all turned to look at Zabini. "Did you know about this?"

"No," Blaise told them, clearly just as confused as everyone else in the room. "I figured he'd be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That position opens up every year, since it's cursed."

Ed looked at Zabini skeptically. "'Cursed'?"

"Yeah," Crabbe/Goyle told him. "Seems like something happens to every teacher that takes the job. They never seem to last any longer than one school year."

He nearly laughed aloud at the comment. Ed had to wonder what all of those teachers had done to get themselves fired. Or if something horrible had happened to them. So much for teaching "defense against the dark arts" if they couldn't even take care of themselves. The school was probably running low on candidates for the job if they had really cycled through that many teachers.

Dumbledore then raised his voice over the muttering of the students. "Professor Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Nearly everyone at the Slytherin table raised their eyebrows in affected surprise, including Draco. A few students whispered to one another, wondering whether or not that could be considered as a promotion or a demotion.

"NO!" shouted someone from across the room.

Everyone turned in their seats, looking for who had shouted. Ed strained to look over their heads and realized that everyone was staring at none other than Harry Potter himself. The young dark-haired wizard was looking at Snape in what could only be described as horrified rage. A few people laughed nervously when Harry finally looked away, running his hands through his messy hair in frustration. Draco smirked, shutting his eyes and leaning back in his seat.

"Looks like Potty's got a problem with our new DADA teacher," he told his cronies. "This should be an interesting school year, eh?"

Amused, grim smiles appeared on all of his friends' faces. Ed didn't really care, deciding that whatever issues Draco had with Harry were really none of his concern. He looked back up at Dumbledore, who had cleared his throat and raised one arm into the air as he waited for absolute silence to descend among the restless students.

"Now, as everybody in this Hall knows," he continued gravely, "Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."

The atmosphere in the hall became tense. Ed noticed out of the corner of his eye that a few Slytherins glanced expectantly in Draco's direction, as though they were waiting for some kind of reaction out of him. But the Malfoy heir remained calm as Dumbledore's speech went on. He had pulled out his wand and was busy making his fork levitate in the air. It seemed like he could have cared less about whatever the headmaster had to say. Even so, Ed couldn't help but notice a strange, almost suspicious look in his grey eyes as they stared at the floating fork.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of the staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them—in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours."

Ed smiled to himself when he heard this. He, at least, was exempt from this rule. A feeling of great pride swelled up within him. He tried not to let it show.

"I implore you," Dumbledore went on, "should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for you own and others' safety." He fell silent for a moment, his blue eyes scanning the room, and then smiled again. "But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

There was a deafening scrape as the benches were moved back. Everyone rose to their feet and began to file out of the hall. Several students from each house shouted out to their respective first years and led them dutifully out of the Great Hall. Draco and his gang all stood up slowly, their leader rolling his grey eyes.

"Finally," he muttered. "Now we can get out of here. Let's go."

They all nodded in agreement as they headed out of the hall, with Crabbe/Goyle forcing through the crowd and creating a path through the sea of students. Pansy beckoned for Ed to follow them, fiddling with his long braid. Zabini walked next to him, slinging an arm casually around his shoulders and launching into a speech about the benefits of being Slytherin. Ed hid his discomfort as he threw a quick glance back over his shoulder at Dumbledore. The headmaster gave him a barely perceptible nod as he watched Ed get dragged off toward the Slytherin dormitory.

It was time for his mission to really start.

* * *

**Author's Note: **longest chapter for this story yet! yaaay:D 

um... tried to keep the descriptions here to a minimum. i know that in my other fics i'm like, obsessed with descriptions, but for this one, i'm trying to keep it simple. you'll notice quite a few exerpts from the book during the feast. i'mgonna stay in canon with HBP (for now). and if anyone's concerned about McGonagall seeming too mean in this chapter, just know that it's only because she's feeling a bit stressed out and rushed.


	5. Magic 101

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note:** just wanted to thank everyone again for their reviews.and please continue to review. reviews beget new chapters :D

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Magic 101**

Ed was sprawled out on his bed amidst a pool of papers, staring up at the ceiling as his mind swam with information. He had spent the last few hours pouring over the last group of books he had bought from Diagon Alley, still trying to figure out how he had used magic. So far, he hadn't succeeded, and all of the books he had read were scattered haphazardly on the floor around his bed. After reading those, he went back to the thick file that had been given to him and gave it another run through. While he learned nothing about any basic logistics behind magic, he did manage to find the answers to some of his other questions. This had pleased him enough to finally stop, which left Ed with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling.

Part of the main reason he had even bothered to go on this insane studying spree was because of the other Slytherins. The entire walk to the Slytherin common room, various Slytherins whose names and faces Ed had already forgotten kept telling him all about how superior their house was to the others. And every now and again someone would ask Ed a question about himself, similar to the way Pansy had interrogated him on the train. Except this time he didn't have to answer, seeing as whenever Ed even thought about answering, someone else had something new to say. Either that or Pansy would answer for him, as though she now knew everything about him.

Basically, Edward was thoroughly annoyed with the other Slytherins at the moment and wasn't about to go and rejoin them in the common room. He knew that they were still there, laughing amongst themselves as they found something to make fun of. Their laughter was very loud and _very _annoying. Ed groaned, covering his ears with his hands. He wished again that Al was here. Then he would have someone to rant to. As it was, he was just getting more and more frustrated.

With an angry growl, Ed ran a hand through his hair and got off his bed. He hastily stuffed all the papers back into the envelope and stashed it at the bottom of his trunk along with his auto-mail maintenance kit and his pocket watch (the bottom of the trunk was quickly becoming the place to hide all things related to Amestris). Then he started looking for something to wear to sleep.

Normally, he would just take off his outer jacket and pants and sleep in his black tank and boxers, but he had to be careful now. He and Al had overlooked this little detail while packing, and now he was regretting it. Ed transmuted several blankets (that probably weren't going to be used) into a simple pair of long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and socks. Making sure no one would see him, Ed quickly changed into his new pajamas, stopping only briefly to check his auto-mail for any malfunctions. He then flopped down on the bed and drew the green curtains so that he was completely hidden from view.

He had just barely begun to drift off to sleep when he heard the others enter the room. There was a brief moment of silence and then a stifled laugh. Ed groaned, rolling onto his side and trying to ignore them. He was half-asleep and grumpy. He didn't need noisy roommates at the moment.

"Look at all those books! Looks like Elric's a bit of a swot, eh?"

"Yeah, he could probably give Granger a run for her money."

"Haha! Yeah!"

"Don't even mention that filthy Mudblood. Just the sound of her name makes me sick."

"Have a look at these! _'Magical Theory: Volume VI,'_ _'A History of Magic,' 'Advanced Potions'_... Bloody hell, it's like he's got every textbook for every class in Hogwarts!"

"Maybe we can get him to help us in class."

"We'll have our very own bookworm to boost our marks! Just like Granger!"

"Hey, yeah! A real guy version of Granger, right here with Slytherin!"

"I told you to shut it about that Mudblood."

"You're real iffy when it comes down to Granger, y'know that?"

"What are you on about?"

"Spill it, Malfoy. What do you _really _think of Granger?"

Ed gritted his teeth, pressing his pillow to the sides of his head. _'Who the hell is Granger?' _he thought, having half a mind to actually voice himself. _'And why the hell does it matter?'_

"If you don't shut that filthy mouth of yours, I'll-"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you-"

"Hey, what d'you suppose this symbol is? The one on Elric's jacket?"

_'Get away from my stuff!' _He was so close to exploding out of bed and attacking them.

"Would you lot just piss off already?"

"Oh, but there are so many questions left unanswered!"

"You want an answer? Fine. I _hate _Granger. I absolutely _despise _her mere existence."

"Denial is unhealthy, my friend."

"Don't make me hex you, Zabini."

"Hey look! Elric's got a book of spells!"

"Useful."

Ed growled, scratching his head in frustration and rolling from side to side on the bed. _'GAH! SHUT THE HELL UP! GET AWAY FROM MY STUFF!'_

"And get away from Elric's books. You gits are getting on my bloody nerves and I'd like to get some sleep."

"Oh, come on, Malfoy. Tired already?"

"Bugger off."

"Sheesh, touchy."

"Get to bed or get your asses out of here."

With that, the room fell silent and the rest of Ed's roommates settled into their beds, for which Ed was eternally grateful. However, this didn't change the fact that he was _very _angry. He immediately decided to figure out some prank he could pull on them... when he was lucid again. Comforted greatly by this thought, Ed smirked to himself as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Ed woke up to find himself surrounded by green curtains. For a brief, panic-stricken moment he was completely disoriented and was about to call out for Al, but he quickly remembered the events of the past day and slumped back into the bed, running his hands through his long hair. He then raised himself slightly and poked his head out from within the curtains of his bed. The other boys were still sound asleep in their beds. It was still early.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of the bed and rummaged through his trunk. Before doing anything else he grabbed his silver pocket watch and opened it up to check the time. It was apparently a little bit after six o'clock, which meant that it was just barely light outside. Ed blinked slowly as he stared at the clock face before putting it away.

He then grudgingly changed into the Hogwarts uniform, retrieved his wand from his trunk, and headed to the Slytherin common room armed with one of his books. He had read this particular book several times already, but Ed couldn't help but feel like he was missing something crucial. He stretched out on the long black couch by the fireplace with his feet propped up on the armrest, holding his book up above his head as he read.

Ed pretty much had the basics of this magic stuff down, but none of the books could give him a simple explanation of how the magic really worked. They only had instructions on how to hold your wand and what to say. It seemed like magic had no bounds or rules the way alchemy did. And worst of all, he still had no idea how he had fixed Harry's broken nose.

With a disheartened sigh, Ed pulled out his wand and examined it. There was nothing special about it, really. It was just a simple stick of mahogany wood. How was it possible for something so plain to do such unbelievable things? Sitting up on the couch properly, Ed switched the wand to his left hand and decided to try one of the simpler spells. After reading through that spell book about three times, Ed had many of them memorized. He put his book on top of the table and pointed the tip of his wand at it.

"Well… Here goes nothing. Literally." He took a deep breath. "_Wingardium Leviosa._"

Much to Ed's surprise (and frustration), the book rose up and hovered in the air. For a while he could do nothing but stare at the book as it floated before him. He then shifted his surprised gaze onto his wand, still trying to figure out how it worked. It shouldn't have. All he had done was wave the wand and say some funny words. Nothing had been exchanged. It was frustrating to find that magic seemed to completely disregard the principle of equivalent exchange, especially since Ed believed that everything in the natural world followed that law. There had to be an exchange going on somewhere. Nothing could be gained without sacrifice.

Before long a few other Slytherins began to enter the common room, looking just as exhausted as Ed was as they rubbed their eyes and yawned. Putting his wand into his pocket, Ed snatched the book out of the air and quickly thumbed through the pages so that he looked too busy to talk to them. That was when he remembered that he had to plan some way to prank his roommates and a slight grin appeared on his face.

"_'Spells and Charms: The Nature of Magic'_(1)? What the bloody 'ell are you reading, Elric?"

Ed practically jumped at the voice and spun around in his seat. Standing just behind the couch was a sleepy version of Draco and his gang. Crabbe and Goyle were so tired it looked like they were sleep walking and Draco had seated himself lazily on the far armrest of the couch. Zabini was the one who had spoken, inspecting the book in Ed's hands as though it carried a disease.

"Just reviewing," Ed said defensively. "Got a problem with that?"

A mischievous smile played on Blaise's face and he shook his head. "Not at all."

The blonde narrowed his eyes at him before turning back to his book. Any idiot could tell that Zabini was planning on using Ed to get better grades. He may have been half-asleep when the jack asses came into the room last night, but he heard every word they said. Still smiling, Zabini walked over to rejoin Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Ed could have sworn that he heard Zabini whisper something to them and laugh softly. Draco rolled his eyes and got up, ready to leave. Crabbe/Goyle looked back at Ed, a sleepy look still on his face.

"Coming to breakfast, then?" he asked.

They all stopped walking suddenly and turned to look at him. Ed glanced up from his book, trying to hide a frown. Their faces were mostly expressionless as they watched him, waiting for some kind of answer. With a heavy sigh, Ed shut his book with a loud slap and rose abruptly to his feet. Everyone watched him as he marched back to the room, waving slightly over his shoulder.

"I'll meet you there," he muttered, which obviously pleased them enough to make them leave. _'I kinda have to, don't I?'_

* * *

Breakfast had been relatively uneventful. Ed rejoined Draco's gang as they ate and talked about something that had little relevance to anything. Draco didn't seem to be taking part in the conversation and just ate his food in silence. Ed didn't care to talk to them either, but even if he had come up with anything to say, he was so busy eating as much as possible that he paused only to breathe and drink his pumpkin juice. Pansy joined them shortly, once again taking her rightful place at Draco's side with an annoying, girlish giggle and linked her arm with his.

As soon as Ed had eaten his fill he rested his head on the table with a contented sigh. He was loving this seemingly endless supply of food. For a wandering alchemist like him, food was always sought after and immensely appreciated. He watched Malfoy and his buddies for a while, his mind churning with possible pranks he could pull on them. Particularly on Zabini.

A few moments later, hundreds of owls entered the Great Hall through the open windows. Ed raised his head off the table and watched in surprise as they all descended onto the tables and the students reached over to untie something from their legs. He realized that this was how mail was sent to and from Hogwarts. He vaguely remembered the colonel saying something about sending him an owl in order to send his reports back to headquarters.

_'I wonder how I'll know which one Mustang sent...'_

As though on cue, a small, beautiful brown and white owl with a heart shaped face landed on the table in front of Ed. It stared at him for a moment with its large black eyes and Ed just stared back. Then the owl quickly pecked at Ed's right hand, tearing the material slightly and revealing the glint of metal. Ed panicked and hid his hands under the table, looking around him urgently to see if anyone had noticed. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found that barely anyone was near him, and Draco's gang was much too busy helping themselves to a bag of treats that Draco had apparently received from home.

Making sure that no one would see anything, Ed clapped his hands softly under the table and repaired the rip on his glove. With this, the owl seemed to come to a decision and raised its leg slightly as though telling Ed to take the attached note. He only glared at the owl as it hopped over and began to nibble at his long bangs, its leg still raised in offering.

"Mustang definitely sent you," he muttered.

The owl just cocked its head curiously to one side. Only then did anyone notice that there was an owl facing off with Ed and everyone turned their attention to it. Pansy practically squealed at the sight of its beautiful, soft feathers.

"Your owl is beautiful!" she breathed. "It's a barn owl, isn't it?"

Ed just laughed nervously as he reached for the small note on its leg. "R-Really?"

He didn't know much of anything about owls and wasn't about to pretend that he did. What he did know was that this owl was starting to bug him, since it wouldn't stop nibbling his hair.

"They're very rare!" Pansy went on. "How on earth did you get one?"

"It's awful small," Draco commented bluntly. "Even for a barn owl."

The small owl seemed to be angry as it stopped what it was doing at once and turned its head sharply to look at Draco. The young Slytherin scowled in disapproval and muttered something under his breath about it being just like Ed. The other boys laughed and Pansy scolded Draco gently as Ed unfolded the note and read its contents.

_Fullmetal,_

_A tiny owl for a tiny alchemist. Her name is Eule.  
Don't forget your reports._

_-Col. Roy Mustang  
The Flame Alchemist_

With an angry, hateful growl, Ed leapt to his feet and quickly tore the note to shreds.

"Damn that Mustang!" he hissed, his gold eyes burning. "Leave it to that bastard to be hundreds of miles away and _still _insult me!"

Everyone's eyes went wide as they watched him. They were very lucky Ed had managed to keep himself from jumping into the air with his arms flailing, shouting and swearing profusely. Clearly frightened by his behavior, Eule flapped her wings and followed the other owls as they left the Great Hall and flew toward the owlery.

Ed left what remained of the note scattered in pieces around on the table as all the students began to line up in front of Professor Snape. Apparently, the sallow-faced professor was handing out schedules to the students of his house and as much as Ed hated to think about it, he belonged to Slytherin. When Ed came up to retrieve his schedule, Snape eyed him suspiciously.

"Mr. Edward Elric, correct?" he said dryly as he rummaged through his stack.

"That's right," Ed confirmed politely.

Snape pulled out a timetable and examined it. "Seems as though Dumbledore took the liberty of drawing your timetable up himself. I'll have to trust he knows what he's doing. And I trust that you'll be able to keep up. I won't tolerate any falling behind in my class." He then handed the timetable over to Ed. "Is that clear?"

The young alchemist took it into his hands, looking Snape straight in the eye. "Crystal. You want me to wag my tail while I'm at it?"

Professor Snape sneered as he turned away, seemingly unable to take Ed's sass. That greasy teacher had no idea who he was messing with. Ed had dealt with infinitely more intimidating people than this character. He was in the military, after all. He smiled secretly as he wandered back toward Draco and his gang. He then read through the classes that were listed, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Zabini looked at Ed curiously as he approached, craning his neck to get a quick look at Ed's schedule. Ed glanced up at him and snorted in annoyance.

"If you're so curious, you could just ask," he said gruffly as he held the timetable out for everyone to see. "Here."

Pansy made a face, comparing Ed's schedule with hers and Draco's. "You're in _all _of Draco's classes!" she whined, clearly annoyed that she didn't have the same luxury.

Draco grimaced as he also compared their schedules. "Bloody hell," he muttered softly.

Though this came as no great surprise to Ed, he still faked shock and looked over at Draco's, pretending to compare timetables and saying something about weird coincidences. Pansy looked at her schedule, pouting about not being able to spend more time with Draco throughout the week. She then turned to Ed, a pleading look in her eyes.

"How about switching with me, Eddy?"

Ed glanced at Pansy and almost burst out laughing. He hid it with an apologetic smile. "Somehow, I don't think it works that way." _'If I could, I would. I don't _want _to be in his classes!' _

Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance, putting his schedule away. "Like you would want to take arithmancy, Pans." He smirked slightly. "In fact, I don't think any of you lot could handle most of the classes I'm taking."

"I would if you were there, Drakey."

Crabbe/Goyle gaped at Draco and Ed. "I can't believe you're both taking arithmancy."

"You saying I'm not smart enough?" Draco snapped.

"What, is it supposed to be hard?" Ed asked.

Everyone but Draco looked at Ed in shock, their mouths hanging open. He just looked back at them, blinking in confusion.

"What?"

* * *

He soon discovered the reason for getting the odd stare. Apparently, arithmancy was really complex math as it related to fortune telling and magic. Not only that, but Professor Vector, the rigid looking teacher, was terribly boring to listen to. She seemed to know the material perfectly, but the boring lecture was just short of torture. Fortunately for Edward, he had endured worse verbal abuse than this and had already read the assigned textbooks from cover to cover. He knew that the subject matter was extremely complex and wasn't quite sure he believed in fortune telling of any sort to be scientifically sound. But for someone who had done heavy calculations required for human transmutation and designed his own alchemic theories... it was about average difficulty.

There were maybe three or four other students in the class besides Draco and Ed; one was from Gryffindor and the others were Ravenclaws. It was much too small to be divided between only two houses and it seemed like they decided to put everyone of the same year into one class. None of the students said a word throughout the entire period as they quickly wrote down what Professor Vector had read from the text and written on the board. Ed couldn't be bothered and only half-listened to her monotonous voice as he scribbled complex transmutation circles on his parchment.

Every now and then Ed noticed Draco's attention drift to one of the other students. A girl, obviously. His silver eyes would linger on her backside for a few moments as she listened to the teacher eagerly. He would then avert his eyes hastily, replacing the thoughtful glaze on his face with the usual sneer as he quickly wrote down what he had missed. Ed couldn't really see the girl's face from where he was sitting, but he couldn't help but wonder who she was.

He chose not to ask about her as they walked to the next class, since Draco seemed to have turned completely sour as soon as the class ended. Ed walked a few steps behind the Malfoy heir, partly to stay out of his way and partly so that he could follow him to class. He had absolutely no idea where their next class was supposed to be. Draco shot a few annoyed glances over his shoulder as they walked. It seemed like he wasn't sure what to think of the young blonde, a confusion at which Ed smiled inwardly.

They met up with Blaise and Pansy near the Great Hall before going to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They made some snide comments about having to take the class with the oh-so-noble and brave Gryffindors, which Ed rolled his eyes at as he entered the Great Hall to see if he couldn't grab something to snack on. Ed was greeted with strange looks when he rejoined Draco's group with a sandwich wrap in his mouth. Unable to do much of anything else with his mouth so full, Ed just returned their stares, blinking his eyes innocently.

Then they made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts and waited in the corridor with the other students. There seemed to be a low buzz of excitement as everyone asked one another about what they were expecting now that Professor Snape was the teacher. Some people seemed very excited while others looked completely horrified. Ed surveyed the waiting students quietly as he finished his sandwich. He had to wonder why so many of the Gryffindors seemed to be afraid of Snape. To Ed, he wasn't particularly scary. Loathsome, maybe. But not scary.

As Edward continued to study the faces of his fellow classmates, he noticed Harry Potter approaching the room with two other Gryffindors. Ed thought he recognized them from somewhere, though he couldn't be sure. He watched the trio for a moment before looking away and caught the vicious glares that Draco and his friends were giving them. The Gryffindors didn't seem to notice.

After a few moments the door to the classroom opened quickly and the chatter instantly ceased. The sallow-faced wizard stepped out, glaring balefully at the students before him.

"Inside."

Snape had all but hissed the word before turning on his heel to reenter his classroom, his black robes billowing behind him. Everyone filed in quickly, murmuring softly to one another. Pansy once again latched herself onto Draco's arm, clinging to him as though they were about to enter a haunted house. Draco gave her a blank look while Ed rolled his eyes.

As they entered the classroom, many students (including Ed) gazed about their surroundings. The room was extremely gloomy, lit only by candles as the drapes had been pulled and blocked the windows. Gruesome pictures lined the walls, at which many people cringed while taking their seats. Ed followed Draco, Pansy, and Blaise to the second row and sat with them quietly. He rested his head on his hand and continued to stare at the paintings.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," said Snape as he closed the door. Several students hastily stashed their textbooks away. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention."

The professor then stalked up to the front of the room, his eyes darting from face to face as he did so. His black robes billowed around him as he walked, the sallow expression on his face unchanging. He spun sharply on his heel to face the classroom and allowed his dark eyes to wander. He shot Ed a particularly nasty look.

"You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe," he said dispassionately. "Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced."

Everyone kept their eyes on Snape as he began to stalk around the room. Ed didn't like what Snape had implied with those comments. If there was one thing that he hated, it was adults who looked down on him and doubted his intelligence. He'd show him. So what if he hadn't taken that "owl" test or whatever it was? Edward Elric was perfectly capable of keeping up with whatever was thrown at him. And he would _definitely _prove it to them.

The professor lowered his voice slightly as he continued.

"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating... indestructible."

A slight frown had formed on Ed's face as he listened to Snape talk. He couldn't help but hear a slight caress in his voice as he spoke, as though he admired these evil things more than he feared them. It was somewhat unnerving, and extremely suspicious.

Professor Snape made his way to the paintings along the wall and looked at them with a stern expression on his face. "Your defenses," he went on in a louder voice, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse..."

He pointed out a picture of a witch that was shrieking in agony. The students gazed at it, reacting in various ways; some were horrified, others were repulsed, and still others seemed indifferent. Snape continued and gestured to another painting of a blank eyed wizard, slumped against a wall.

"... feel the Dementor's Kiss," Snape continued with a soft hiss.

Several students, including Edward, shuddered visibly. Ed had come across an account of a Dementor in one of the books he got from Diagon Alley. He definitely didn't like what he read, and had hoped with all his might that the book was wrong and they didn't exist. Apparently they did. That picture proved it to him. Professor Snape paid no heed to anyone's reactions and continued, pointing to one last picture of an anonymous bloody mass upon the ground.

"... or provoke the aggression of the Inferius."

Ed only glanced at the last picture, refusing to take the image in for too long. It reminded him too much of the sin he and his brother committed... He shivered, staring intently at the top of his desk, gripping his right forearm and forcing the memories out of his mind. He didn't want to relive that moment. It was his own childhood trauma, and anything that reminded him of that... that _thing_...

Pansy noticed the anxious look on Ed's face. "What's happened to Eddy?"

Zabini glanced at the young blonde. "The images are gettin' to him, I suppose."

"Poor little Elric," Draco muttered. "Afraid of a few bloody pictures."

He had half expected Ed to immediately turn and glare at him, his teeth bared and growling like a wild dog. After all, Draco had used the word "little" in a description of him. However, Ed was so distracted with his own thoughts that he had barely heard the comment.

A dark-skinned girl raised her hand nervously in the air. "Has an Inferius been seen, then? Is it definite, is he using them?"

Snape gave a small smirk. "The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past. Which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now..."

He then made his way back to his desk and began to shuffle through various papers. Having finally come back to his senses, Ed looked up and watched Snape carefully, studying his features. There was simply something about the way he had answered that girl's question that Ed didn't like. He wished desperately that he could do some kind of background check on this professor. Everything he had said was unsettling to Ed. Mention of Snape was most certainly going into his report.

Seeing the life back in Ed's face, Pansy leaned toward him and tugged on a lock of Ed's hair. "What happened to you?"

He blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"You looked like you pissed your pants," Zabini chuckled.

Ed just shook his head, his thoughts suddenly turning to ones of vengeance. "Nothing."

Pansy raised an eyebrow and Blaise shrugged his shoulders as they returned their attention on Snape. Draco glanced at Ed out of the corner of his eye, remaining thoughtfully silent.

"...you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of non-verbal spells. What is the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

Almost simultaneously, every head turned expectantly toward a girl with bushy brown hair in the back, whose hand shot up immediately. Ed glanced over at her offhandedly then back at Snape. The professor seemed to be looking around the rest of the class, avoiding calling on the only person who knew the answer to his question. Ed shrugged to himself.

_'Might as well.'_

He raised his hand into the air as well, though not with nearly as much enthusiasm as the girl in the back. When Professor Snape saw this he raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback.

"Mr. Elric?"

Everyone suddenly turned to look at him, some of them completely perplexed. The rest of the class cast uncertain glances between Ed and the bushy-haired girl. Draco smirked and leaned back in his chair, preparing himself to watch what promised to be an amusing show.

"Your enemy has no warning about what kind of... _attack _you're gonna do," Ed said nonchalantly, deliberately avoiding saying the word "magic." "Which would _obviously _give you a split-second advantage in battle."

It seemed like Snape was trying his hardest to mask the impressed expression on his face. "It looks as though the magical institute in Germany lives up to Hogwarts standards. However, it only covers the essentials. Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some..." Snape looked pointedly in Harry's direction. "...lack."

Ed glanced at Harry curiously. The young dark-haired wizard glowered at Snape until the professor turned to address the rest of the class.

"You will now divide into pairs," he announced. "One partner will attempt to jinx the other _without speaking_. The other will attempt to repel the jinx _in equal silence_. Carry on."

The young alchemist raised his eyebrows in affected surprise as he wondered whether or not he should attempt to join in. After all, he had only cast his very first spell the previous day, restoring Harry from his paralysis. He quickly realized that he was going to have to; Snape had told him very clearly that he was not going to allow any falling behind.

Pansy immediately paired herself off with Zabini, since she didn't want to hurt her precious and most beloved Draco. Ed had to admit that he was disappointed not to be paired with Zabini, as it would have been a perfect opportunity to exact vengeance on him. But he did have a few issues with Draco and immediately decided that this wasn't a total loss. Except for the part where Ed had very little experience with using magic. Ed pushed the shadow of doubt away. He'd figure something out.

Draco seemed to pick up on the technique rather quickly and was starting to succeed in casting spells without saying a word. However, he hadn't managed to hit Ed with any of his jinxes, since Ed kept jumping out of the way of his wand. Maybe he didn't have that split second warning of a verbal incantation, but judging by the direction in which Draco's wand was pointed, he could at least stay out of harm's way.

"Keep still!" he demanded, still firing his wand.

"Yeah, right!" Ed retorted, jumping back. "I'm not stupid, y'know!"

"Then I'll _make _you keep still," Draco growled.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Ooh. I'm so scared."

Malfoy cast another spell and missed his target yet again. A smirk could be seen on Ed's face. Of course, he hadn't just been dodging; the entire time he was figuring out the trick to non-verbal spells. He had only used magic a few times and therefore lacked the experience and control that the other students had. This knowledge obviously made it easier for them to wrap their heads around the concept behind these non-verbal spells. So Edward had to quickly figure out what exactly he had done those few times and imitate it, putting the incantation aside.

It wasn't long before he grasped the concept. Ed grinned.

Draco's upper lip curled as he lowered his wand. "I'm sick of this," he muttered.

He was just about to call for Snape's attention when Ed decided to put his theory into practice. He waved his wand, aimed for Draco's mouth, and cast _silencio_ on him without saying a word. Edward couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he watched Draco try to call out for Snape, only to realize that he was unable to make a single sound.

"Weren't expectin' that, were ya?" he teased. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Speak up, Malfoy, I can't hear ya!"

The young Slytherin's grey eyes burned in rage. Maybe he was just starting to go crazy from being around too many wizards, but Ed was starting to like magic. Ed watched with an amused smirk as Draco flapped his lips and nothing came out. A part of him wondered what the Malfoy heir was saying, but he decided that whatever it was, it couldn't be very important. He thought he recognized the lip movements of Draco's lips as they formed various swear words.

After a while, Ed got bored of watching "angry Malfoy in mute" and turned to call the professor. He had completed the task of the day and intended to leave that classroom as quickly as possible. He opened his mouth to speak and suddenly found that his own voice was gone. He had been jinxed! His gold eyes wide in disbelief, Ed turned on Malfoy in rage. Draco folded his arms over his chest and smirked while Ed's face began to turn a very bright shade of red.

It was really a very funny sight. Two very angry, blonde Slytherin boys trying to scream at each other and failing. Their eyes burned as they glared daggers at each other, silver clashing with gold. The vicious sparks were practically visible. But before either boy had the sense to realize that they could continue to hex each other in spite of the silence...

"_Protego_!"

A loud clatter was heard on the other side of the room. Everyone in the class stopped what they were doing and turned to see what had happened.

It looked like Snape had been thrown across the room and slammed straight into a desk. The culprit appeared to be none other than Harry Potter himself, who had the tip of his wand pointed right at the professor. Harry didn't move an inch as he glared in Snape's direction, not even to lower his wand.

The professor scowled as he picked himself up off the desk. "Do you remember me telling you we were practicing _non-verbal _spells, Potter?"

"Yes," Harry answered stiffly, wand still raised.

Snape's expression turned even sourer. "Yes _sir_," he corrected Harry sternly.

"There is no reason to call me 'sir,' Professor."

Ed was actually grateful that no sound was escaping from his throat, because he was unable to stop himself from laughing. He didn't care what Draco and his lackeys said; from that comment alone, Ed knew he liked Harry.

Professor Snape, on the other hand, was not as amused as Edward. "Detention, Potter," he snapped. "Saturday night, my office." He then added softly, "I do not take cheek from anyone. Not even '_the Chosen One_.'"

Everyone then slowly returned to their task except for Harry, who refused to move as Snape brushed angrily past him. Ed was still smiling as the sallow-faced professor approached. He looked at Ed and Draco, raising an eyebrow as Draco tried to speak and nothing came out. Understanding what had happened, Snape shook his head in frustration and undid the _silencio _spell that Ed had cast on him before continuing on his way.

Ed's eyes grew wide when Snape failed to do the same for him. His expression soon changed from shock to anger as he watched the professor stalk around the room. He had been ignored! Ed balled his hands into fists at his sides, his eye twitching.

_'I don't like you at all, Snape,' _he thought bitterly.

Draco's trademark smirk played on his lips as he looked at Ed. The young alchemist turned back to Draco, folding his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes. He gritted his teeth and growled, muttering several insults that no one heard. Much of it was directed at Draco. He was feeling the need to knock that smirk off of his smug face. He itched to clap his hands together and wrap the floor around Draco's body. But he couldn't. Ed once again cursed his job and his mission.

"What's the matter, shorty?" Draco mocked. "You get overlooked there? Professor Snape must not have been able to see you, since you're so little."

It was a lucky thing - a _very _lucky thing - that Ed had been silenced.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **Not a whole lot happening in this chapter. Just a few… Draco/Hermione things (hehe) and Ed's first day at school, getting him settled into this new world… interactions with various HP verse characters… the standard stuff. :P oh, and if you're wondering about how Ed was able to cast a non-verbal spell even though he'd only used magic three times in his life... well, he figured it out. i don't know how. i only know that he did. XD i love Ed, he is so smart.  
(1) Copyright 2001 Amy Z. "Spells and Charms: The Nature of Magic" is an essay about magical theory that I found on HP Lexicon. I wasn't really sure what to entitle some of Ed's books, so… yeah. I don't own the rights to it, and even if I only used the title of the essay in the story, the writer shall be credited.


	6. Name Dropping

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **wow! i got a lot of responses for chapter 5! now you're all making me worry about the next chapters... i hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story!

* * *

**Chapter 6  
****Name Dropping**

In spite of having been jinxed into silence, Ed's anti-short outburst seemed to have attracted a lot of attention. Judging by the look on Snape's face, he would have gotten a detention or some other, similar kind of punishment. But for whatever reason, the professor only deducted a few points from the house (whatever _that _accomplished) and undid the spell.

Zabini was having a good laugh about it all throughout lunch, and though Draco didn't say much, the smirk had not left his face since the end of class. Edward decided not to say anything and just stuffed his face with all the amazing food that had appeared. He was fed up with being polite around these people, and he didn't think he'd be able to keep the act up all year long. Crabbe and Goyle were watching Ed eat with a mixture of shock and admiration on their faces.

After lunch they went back to the Slytherin dorm to kill some time before their next class, which was, for all of them but Crabbe and Goyle, N.E.W.T. level Potions.

"I say we skip Slughorn's class," Zabini proposed.

"But you were invited to his little club," Pansy teased.

"Exactly," the boy snapped. "He irritates me. I'd much prefer to stay away from that arse of a professor."

"You might as well go," Draco told him with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. "It's only the first day of classes. You can skip all you like after today."

Ed was starting to think that he definitely _was _going crazy, because he found himself nodding his head in solid agreement. Blaise just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

When the matter was settled, they went to their room to get the supplies that they needed for the class. Sure enough, Dumbledore had taken care of all Ed's school supplies, which left him with quite a lot of odd things in the trunk. Ed had to see what Blaise and Draco were pulling out so that he would know what to grab. After taking note of what they were holding, Ed reached in and grabbed what he needed; a scale, a potion kit, and a small cauldron. Ed smiled at the cauldron as he pulled it out.

_'I guess some stereotypes are true after all,' _he thought, genuinely amused.

They remained in the Slytherin common room for a little while longer, lounging on the couches by the fireplace and trying to ignore Pansy's pouting. Ed was lying down on the couch, flipping through the pages of the _'Advanced Potion Making'_ textbook and skimming through the content. Just reviewing really. This had been one of the first books he had read through. After all, potion making seemed very much like cooking and it had been said many times before that alchemy's roots could be found in the kitchen. Potions couldn't be much different.

The potions classroom wasn't very far from the Slytherin common room, which made for a pleasantly short walk. There weren't many students waiting in the corridor. Judging by the crests on their robes, there were four Ravenclaws and a lone Hufflepuff gathered so far. Draco, Pansy, Zabini, and Ed were soon joined by a weedy-looking Slytherin boy by the name of Theodore Nott, and not long after that, a familiar Gryffindor trio entered the corridor. Once again, all the Slytherins (except Ed) glared at them.

The dungeon door soon opened and the round belly of Professor Slughorn preceded him out of the door. Ed suppressed his laughter at the odd, walrus-like appearance of the Potions Master. He beamed at Zabini and Harry with particular enthusiasm as everyone filed through the door. Pansy poked Zabini in his side with a mischievous glint in her eyes and he scowled at her.

While finding a place to sit, Ed was overpowered by the numerous strange smells that were emitted from the various bubbling cauldrons around the room. He peered into each cauldron that they passed, trying to figure out what was contained in each of them.

"Now then, now then, now then," Slughorn said merrily as he walked to the front of the room. "Scales out everyone, and potion kits, and don't forget your copies of _'Advanced Potion Making'_..."

All five Slytherins pulled out their materials as they settled in a row and laid them out on top of the table. Ed made sure to watch the others carefully and copy what they did as they prepared their things.

"Sir?"

The professor looked over at the Gryffindors, where Harry had raised his hand into the air. He nodded his head at him.

"Harry, m'boy?"

"I haven't got a book or scales or anything - nor's Ron," Harry informed him, gesturing to the red-headed boy beside him. "We didn't realize we'd be able to do the N.E.W.T., you see-"

Professor Slughorn's face took on a thoughtful glaze. "Ah, yes, Professor McGonagall did mention..." He then smiled. "Not to worry, my dear boy, not to worry at all. You can use ingredients from the store cupboard today, and I'm sure we can lend you some scales, and we've got a small stock of old books here, they'll do until you can write to Flourish and Blott's..."

Malfoy snickered to the other Slytherins. "We wouldn't want Potty and Weasel to fall behind now, would we?"

His band of followers all smirked at the comment, whereas Ed just leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin in his hands and rolling his eyes. He watched Slughorn go to the corner cupboard and pull out two very battered-looking copies of the textbook and two sets of tarnished scales, both of which he gave to Harry and the boy named Ron. Slughorn then resumed his position at the front of the classroom, inflating his already bulging chest so that the buttons on his waistcoat threatened to burst off.

"Now then," he said, "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of thing you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet." He then gestured toward the cauldron nearest the Slytherin table. "Anyone tell me what this one is?"

Ed craned his neck to see what was inside the cauldron. What looked to be nothing more than plain water was boiling away inside it. Rather disappointed, he slumped back into his seat and groaned.

"Isn't it just boiling water?" Ed asked disinterestedly.

Pansy laughed ostentatiously as though it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. A few other students around the classroom laughed as well. Slughorn, on the other hand, blinked in confusion. Ed was equally confused by the laughter and looked around at his other classmates.

"What?"

"It's Veritaserum," a girl called from somewhere behind him. "A colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth."

Ed turned to look at who had spoken and recognized the same brown-haired girl from his earlier Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She glanced at Ed with an almost snobbish look in her eyes, giving him a curt smile and a shallow nod, clearly pleased to have corrected him. There was a bossy air about her that seemed a little too familiar to Ed.

"Very good, very good," Slughorn said happily. "Now," he continued, pointing at the cauldron nearest the Ravenclaw table, "this one here is pretty well known... Featured in a few ministry leaflets lately, too... Who can-"

The girl interrupted. "It's Polyjuice Potion, sir."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Duh," he muttered to no one in particular.

"Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here..." Slughorn had barely gestured toward the cauldron before the same girl shot her hand into the air. "Yes, my dear?"

"It's Amortentia!"

"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," said Slughorn who was looking mightily impressed, "but I assume you know what it does?"

She smiled. "It's the most powerful love potion in the world!"

Draco cocked an eyebrow at this. Pansy suddenly looked _very _excited, which was a very peculiar and somewhat disturbing thing to see. She kept looking coyly at Draco, trying to catch his attention and failing miserably.

"Quite right! You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"

The girl was just about to open her mouth to speak when she was cut off.

"You can also tell from the rising steam," Ed said loudly. When Slughorn looked at him curiously, he pointed over at the cauldron. "Characteristic spirals."

The Potion Master's eyebrows arched upward, impressed. "Very keen observation, lad."

Everyone seemed rather stunned, and the bushy-haired girl looked somewhat insulted. She raised her hand back into the air eagerly. The professor turned back to her.

"Something else to add, m'dear?"

"_And _it's supposed to smell differently to each of us," she said enthusiastically, "according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and..."

Her voice trailed off and she blushed furiously. From out of the corner of his eye Ed noticed Draco glance over at the girl, an unreadable expression on his face.

"May I ask your name my dear?" Slughorn said, ignoring the girl's embarrassment.

She smiled proudly. "Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger?" Slughorn repeated thoughtfully. "Granger?"

Ed's eyebrows furrowed. _'Granger...? Why does that sound familiar...? Granger...'_

"Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger," Slughorn asked her, "who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

_'No, no, that's not it,' _Ed corrected him in his mind._ 'I read about that somewhere...'_

The girl named Hermione lowered her gaze and shook her head. "No, I don't think so, sir. I'm Muggle-born, you see."

Malfoy leaned close to Nott, muttering something to him under his breath and they both sniggered. Ed glanced over at them absently, still mulling over the girl's name. Slughorn looked at Harry, who was sitting right next to Hermione, and his face suddenly lit up.

"Oho!" he exclaimed excitedly. "_'One of my best friends is Muggle-born, and she's the best in our year!' _I'm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry, smiling.

Ed suddenly had a very vivid flashback of him rolling around in his bed, trying desperately to sleep, while his roommates... He sprang to his feet, his eyes wide.

"GRANGER!" he shouted with wild recognition. He immediately turned on Draco. "Granger! That's the one you were talking about last night, right?"

The entire class was stunned, all eyes turning toward the two blonde Slytherins. Draco was clearly taken aback as he stared at Ed in horrified rage.

"What the _bloody hell_ are you-"

"Last night! You kept talking about her!"

Draco didn't seem to be able to decide whether he should vomit or die on the spot. Pansy looked horrified. Zabini, on the other hand, could be seen with a wide, mischievous grin plastered across his face. Ed was pleased with himself for remembering and glanced back at Hermione. She looked heavily perplexed as she turned to Harry and Ron on either side of her, both of whom wore identical confused expressions. Ed suddenly wondered if he had said something wrong.

"And _your _name, lad?" Slughorn said, breaking the shocked, tense silence. He seemed unperturbed by the sudden outburst.

He turned to look back at the professor. "Edward Elric."

Slughorn beamed. "Ah, yes, of course! The exchange student from the school in Germany!"

Ed forced a smile, the corners of his lips twitching. "Uh... yeah."

"I heard about you from Dumbledore himself! A brilliant mind, he told me, a brilliant mind. Quite like Miss Granger here, are you?"

Hermione and Ed looked over at each other and smiled as politely as they could. He wasn't quite sure what to think of her, though when he looked at her again, he did realize that she was rather pretty. If Draco carried some kind of interest in her, then he couldn't be blamed. Ed shot another glance at Draco as he sank back into his seat and noticed a tinge of envy in his grey eyes.

"Twenty points to both Slytherin and Gryffindor," Slughorn said jovially as he returned to teaching. "Amortentia doesn't really create _love_, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room - oh yes." He nodded gravely toward Nott and Blaise, both of whom were smirking skeptically. "When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love... And now, it is time for us to start work."

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," said the only Hufflepuff in the class, pointing at a small black cauldron on Slughorn's desk.

The potion in question was the color of molten gold, and large drops were splashing about in an almost cheerful manner above the surface, though not a single particle had spilled. Ed stared at it for a moment, matching it to descriptions and images he'd found in the textbooks. He was absolutely sure that he'd come across that potion somewhere before.

"Oho," said Slughorn again. "Yes. That. Well, _that _one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it either Mr. Elric or Miss Granger can tell me what it does?"

"It's liquid luck," Hermione answered proudly. "It makes you lucky!"

Everyone suddenly sat up a little straighter, now at full attention. Ed was now assured that he knew exactly what the potion was.

"Yeah, but if taken in great amounts," Ed countered, "it tends to make people reckless, giddy, and dangerously overconfident. Not to mention it can be highly toxic. Too much of a good thing, y'know?"

Slughorn beamed again. "Excellent! Take another ten points for your houses, both of you. Yes, it's a funny little potion, Felix Felicis, desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, as this has been, you will find that all your endeavors tend to succeed... at least until the effects wear off."

"Have you ever taken it, sir?" one of the Ravenclaws asked with great interest.

"Twice in my life," said Slughorn. "Once when I was twenty-four, once when I was fifty-seven. Two tablespoonfuls taken with breakfast. Two perfect days." The professor stared off dreamily into the distance for a moment before continuing. "And that is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson."

Everyone fell silent. The only thing that could be heard was the bubble and gurgle of the surrounding potions in their cauldrons. Even the Slytherins looked intrigued, leaning forward slightly in their seats.

"One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis," the professor said, pulling out a small glass bottle out of his pocket and showing it to the students. "Enough for twelve hours' luck. From dawn till dusk, you'll be lucky in everything you attempt." He placed it on his desk, and everyone's eyes followed it, unable to tear their gazes away. "Now, I must give you warning that Felix Felicis is a banned substance in organized competitions... sporting events, for instance, examinations, or elections. So the winner is to use it on an ordinary day only... and watch how that ordinary day becomes extraordinary!"

Zabini and Nott looked annoyed at the warning and leaned back in their seats, scowling. Ed smirked, knowing how disappointing it must have been for them to find out that it wouldn't help them on tests. His smirk slowly faded away when he realized that this meant Ed was _definitely _going to get used for his smarts. He didn't like that, and once again vowed revenge.

_'Why can't they go ask the Granger girl instead?'_

"So," Slughorn went on, suddenly brisk, "how are you to win my fabulous prize? Well, by turning to page ten of _'Advanced Potion Making.' _We have a little over an hour left to us, which should be time for you to make a decent attempt at the Draught of Living Death. I know it is more complex than anything you have attempted before, and I do not expect a perfect potion from anybody. The person who does best, however, will win little Felix here. Off you go!"

Everyone set to work; they pulled their cauldrons toward them and some began adding weights to their scales in complete silence. The concentration within the room was almost tangible. Ed could see Draco riffling feverishly through his textbook. He almost laughed aloud.Clearly, Malfoy really wanted that lucky day.

Ed flipped to the right page in the book and glanced over the instructions. With a resigned sigh, he rose to his feet and followed the others to the student cupboard to get the ingredients. Everyone seemed to be in a terrible hurry, competing with one another to get the prized golden liquid. Ed didn't really mind. Sure, his luck always seemed to run bad. It would be nice to go on a lucky streak for a change, but he still felt uneasy about resorting to magic.

As he returned to his seat with the ingredients, he saw Malfoy cutting up valerian roots as fast as he could. He smirked as he set off to work as well, sitting next to him. Draco glanced up at Ed briefly as he sat down, rather annoyed that he was so laid-back, before returning to his feverish pace. Ed had to wonder why Draco was so desperate for luck.

Everyone kept glancing around at what their classmates were doing. Ed realized that this was both an advantage and disadvantage of potions; it was hard to keep your work private. Within the first ten minutes, the whole room was full of bluish steam. Ed couldn't help but notice Draco getting increasingly frustrated as his potion didn't seem to be faring as well as he wanted it to. He kept casting sideways glances at Ed's cauldron and muttering something under his breath. Ed furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Draco's potion, trying to figure out why he was so upset. It looked fine to him.

After a few more minutes, Draco looked up at Slughorn as he passed their table.

"Sir," he called, catching the professor's attention, "I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?"

"Yes," said Slughorn without looking at Draco. "I was sorry to hear that he had died, although of course it wasn't unexpected, dragon pox at his age..."

With that, he walked away from the table. Draco made an annoyed face before turning back to his cauldron. Ed smirked. Obviously, Draco had expected to be treated like Harry or Zabini, or at least be recognized somehow the way Ed and Hermione had. Perhaps he had even hoped for preferential treatment, having grown up rich and spoiled. This certainly explained the envious look he had given Ed earlier. It looked like Draco had no choice but to rely on talent alone to win the bottle of Felix Felicis.

While Ed stirred his potion, he took the time to look around at his classmates. A few people seemed to be struggling, including Harry's friend Ron who looked as though the work was paining him. Harry seemed to be doing fine. Better, in fact, than Hermione, who kept giving him and the potion in his cauldron incredulous looks. Everyone else was stirring their cauldrons and, just like Ed, looking around to see how people were doing.

"And time's... up!" called Slughorn. "Stop stirring, please!"

Everyone stopped at once and leaned back slightly in their seats. The professor moved slowly among the tables, peering into cauldrons. He didn't say a word as he did so, but gave the potions an occasional stir or sniff. Slughorn gave Ed and Draco's potions an approving nod and moved on. Draco seemed upset that he got nothing more than that and folded his arms angrily over his chest. When Slughorn reached Harry's cauldron, a look of incredulous delight appeared on his face.

"A clear winner!" he cried to the rest of the dungeon. "Excellent, excellent, Harry!"

Draco's head snapped around and he practically sprang out of his seat, shooting a vicious glare at Harry. The other Slytherins were also fuming, but they turned their heads in a much slower manner than Draco had. Ed still didn't understand their contempt toward the poor kid as he watched Harry look at everyone's faces, seemingly unable to decide between feeling happy or guilty.

"Good lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent," Slughorn continued to praise. "She was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are - one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!"

* * *

Draco and his gang scowled as they walked back to the Slytherin common room.

"He must have cheated somehow," Draco muttered. "How else do you explain it?"

"You heard him," Pansy sneered. "It was luck. Dumb luck, is all."

"Maybe he's just got talent," Ed said with a shrug. "Give him some credit."

All of their heads snapped around to look at him at the same time. They halted in their tracks and gaped at him as though he'd sprouted a second head. He kept walking, but came to a stop when he realized that they were no longer moving. Ed glanced back at them quizzically.

"What?"

After a fleeting moment of silence, they burst into laughter.

"That's a good one, Eddy!" Pansy giggled, playfully flicking at the tuft of hair that stuck out from the top of Ed's head.

"The only talent _he _has is flashing that bloody scar of his wherever he goes."

"Potter actually having talent... That's rich!"

They then continued their walk, laughing heartily. Ed just rolled his eyes and shut his mouth. He knew exactly what it felt like to be underestimated and made fun of, and this conversation was making him like these Slytherins even less.

"Yeah, but did you _see _the look on Granger's face?" Blaise said with a pointed look at Draco. "Speaking of Granger, Elric caused quite a stir there, didn't he, Draco?"

Draco shot a glare at Blaise. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Zabini."

They bickered the entire way to the Slytherin dungeons. Pansy was clearly bothered by this change of subject, pressing her lips together. Ed, on the other hand, stroked his chin thoughtfully, a mischievous smile slowly creeping onto his face.

_'Hermione Granger... Hmm...'_

* * *

**Author's Note: **most of this was originally gonna be a part of chapter 5, but chapter 5 started to run a little long, so i had to break it off. tralala... pairings, pairings... XD


	7. A Friendly Game of Poker

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **i'm surprised to be getting such a great response over the last few chapters! XD i'm glad you're all enjoying it! there's more coming, so get ready for it. :D

who else can't believe it's already May?

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 7  
****A "Friendly" Game of Poker**

Zabini groaned inwardly as he stared at the words written in the textbook. Edward glanced up from his book just in time to see the Slytherin scratch his head in frustration. Actually, most of the Slytherins had been doing that very same thing for some time now as they did their homework. Or rather, as they _tried _to do their homework. Draco seemed to be doing just fine on his own, even if he did have his mental blocks every now and again. Pansy was also fine, though she was getting help from a few other Slytherin girls on the other side of the common room. Crabbe and Goyle were helping one another and not getting anywhere while Zabini seemed to have been trapped on the same two pages of his book for the past half hour.

The first day of classes was officially over and they had just come back from eating dinner in the Great Hall. The Slytherin common room was filled with students of all years struggling with their homework. Or at least, it was. Over the last hour or so, some had given up and went back to the dormitories to sleep or find some other way to kill time while the rest remained, Draco and the gang among them. Ed stayed in the common room only to fulfill his mission duties and kept himself busy with another of his books.

"Done yet?" Ed asked Zabini, even though he already knew the answer.

He just looked over at Ed with an exasperated expression on his face. Ed smiled innocently, turning to the next page of his book. Zabini squinted at the book in Ed's hands, which was entitled _'The Complexity of Numerology_.

"What are _you _doing?"

"Some light reading," Ed answered offhandedly.

"_That_?" Zabini pointed at Ed's book. "You call _that... light _reading?"

The young alchemist just shrugged his shoulders.

"Where's your homework gone?"

"Oh, I finished that hours ago," said Ed, waving one hand dismissively. "Not like it was hard or anything."

A few Slytherins around the room within earshot cast a few amazed glances in Ed's direction. Edward just ignored them and continued with his reading. A smile slowly crept onto Zabini's face and he tapped Crabbe and Goyle lightly on the shoulder. All three Slytherins grinned evilly, standing up and walking over to join Ed on the couch.

"So it was easy, eh, Elric?"

Ed shot them an annoyed glance, considering kicking them off the couch. "What'd I just say?"

They leaned toward him slightly, lowering their voices. "Mind giving us a few pointers, then?"

The book in Ed's hands was slowly lowered into his lap. He raised an eyebrow at the looks on their faces and then rolled his eyes. _'Here we go.'_

"Well?" Crabbe/Goyle urged.

"Well what?" Ed said, determined to get back to his reading.

"Are you going to help us?"

"Show us how it's done, Elric!"

An oddly hopeful (or maybe even desperate) look was on all of the Slytherins' faces, Crabbe and Goyle in particular. Ed just stared them straight in the eye for a long, silent moment and then turned back to his book.

"No."

They looked disappointed. "Aw, why not?"

"Why should I help any of you?" he snorted.

"We're your fellow Slytherins!" said Crabbe/Goyle.

"We're mates!"

"Come on, Elric," Zabini insisted. "Share the knowledge."

Ed was really getting annoyed now. A part of him wanted very much to transmute their clothes to wrap around their faces, just to shut them up. He still hadn't been able to prank Zabini for plotting this abuse of his brilliant mind. No one uses Edward Elric. Then, suddenly, he felt like a light bulb had lit up over his head. He did his best not to grin as he shut his book and put it on the table.

"Okay then," he said slowly. Their eyes seemed to light up. "But on one condition."

They looked to one another, puzzled. "What's that?"

Slowly, Ed rose to his feet, his eyes hidden by his long bangs. It was unnecessarily dramatic, but Ed relished in the effect he had created as Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle watched him intently. He then flashed them an almost wicked grin.

"A poker game."

Crabbe and Goyle stared at him dumbly. "Poker?"

"_Poker_?" Zabini echoed, raising an eyebrow. "What's poker?"

"I've heard of that before," Draco chimed in from where he was working on his Arithmancy essay. Everyone looked over at him as he raised his grey eyes from the parchment. "Muggle game, isn't it?"

"A Muggle game?" Zabini looked at both Ed and Draco incredulously. "How do you two know of a Muggle game?"

Ed had no idea what he was talking about, but thankfully, Draco did. The white-blonde rolled his eyes as though he didn't enjoy recalling the memory.

"Muggle studies class," he muttered.

"Same," Ed lied.

Glancing at the perplexed expressions on the faces of his friends and followers, Draco turned away from his essay with an exasperated sigh. He took on a thoughtful look for a moment, choosing his words carefully before speaking.

"Poker is a card game. Basically, you get five cards each. Certain combinations of cards are better than others, and the person who has the stronger combination wins..."

He continued to explain the basics and rules of poker to them. The three Slytherins nodded their heads as they listened. Zabini seemed to understand perfectly, but Crabbe and Goyle were confused as ever. In spite of the simplistic terms that Draco had used in his explanation, none of it seemed to stick in their dim minds. Ed was impressed that Draco knew so much about poker, but it was somewhat hard to believe that something so trivial had been taught in a class. When the explanation was finished, Ed cleared his throat loudly, bringing everyone's attention back on him.

"These are the conditions," he announced. "If _I _win, you guys leave me alone and do your work yourselves. In the unlikely event that _you _win, I'll help you three with your homework." Ed's grin grew. "Deal?"

Zabini grinned back. "Alright. But I'll play for all three of us. That fine by you?"

The young blonde shrugged. "Sounds fair enough."

Crabbe and Goyle looked rather relieved to hear that and patted Zabini heartily on the back. Only Draco understood that Ed had insulted them with that comment, insinuating that the three of them combined were hardly worth him alone, and smirked. He brought his essay over to where Ed and his lackeys were playing, having decided to watch the game. It promised to be interesting. This certainly wasn't something that happened everyday.

"Right then!" Zabini said, enthusiastically rubbing his hands together. "Let's get started!"

The alchemist grinned again.

* * *

"I'll change two."

Ed grabbed two cards and put them into his hand. He groaned inwardly, disappointed with the hand that he had. Winning a game of poker against Zabini should have been easy, but it seemed like he was just as natural with poker as Al was. Ed shifted his gaze from his junk hand of cards to Zabini, who was also looking at his cards intently. He seemed to be deep in thought.

A small crowd of Slytherins had gathered to watch, their homework now abandoned on the floor and on desks. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be completely dumbfounded, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging slightly agape. Draco had finally finished his essay and was also watching the game from the couch, lounging casually on his side with his head propped up by his arm.

"Hurry up already," Ed muttered, annoyed.

"Right," Zabini said. "Changing two as well."

He reached over, picked up two cards and inserted them into his hand. An excited glint could be seen in his dark eyes at which Ed scowled. He looked back down at his cards.

"Say Elric, what say we double the bet?"

Ed didn't look up. "Whatever you say."

Zabini smirked as he laid down his cards, revealing three of a kind and a pair. "Sorry, Elric. Full house."

The other Slytherins looked impressed, some of them applauding the feat. Though Crabbe and Goyle didn't understand what was going on, they started to congratulate Zabini. The boy leaned back, a smug look on his face. Ed looked at the cards that were spread out on the table with a frown.

"You're good, Zabini."

This caused another ripple of excitement and more congratulations and praise was sent in Zabini's direction. However, Ed was undeterred as he adjusted his hold on his cards.

"But... you're just not good enough."

Everyone stopped talking, turning to look at Ed with their eyes wide. Zabini's face fell slowly as Ed laid his cards out on the table. One by one, the cards were revealed to be a ten, a Jack, a Queen, a King, and an Ace, all in spades.

"Royal straight flush."

Draco raised an astonished eyebrow then smirked as a realization dawned on him. Everyone else yelled out in surprise, throwing their hands up into the air. Zabini's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped visibly. Crabbe and Goyle looked at one another, then over at their representative.

"Did... we lose?"

"Of _course _you lost," Draco muttered as he sat up straight on the couch. "A royal flush is the best hand you can get in poker, you gits."

Zabini groaned, leaning back and running his hands through his hair. Ed just grinned as he gathered the cards and shuffled them once.

"Best two out of three," Zabini haggled, springing back.

"No can do," Ed told him with a shake of his head. "We made a deal, remember? Equivalent exchange, after all."

"What the bloody hell's _that _supposed to mean?" he snapped, rising to his feet to leave. "Equivalent exchange my _ass_."

As everyone left the common room, heading back to the dorms now that the show was over, Ed shuffled the cards in his hands and considered playing solitaire for a little while. Draco was the last one left. He stood up from the couch and walked over to Ed. The young alchemist flicked his braid over his shoulder as he turned to look at Draco.

"What else have you got up your sleeve, Elric?"

Ed flinched ever so slightly at the words. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, feigning innocence.

Draco reached over and grabbed Ed's left arm. He rolled the sleeve up and several cards fell to the stone floor. He smirked, looking at all the aces of spades that had been tucked away in his robes and finally released Ed's wrist. Ed stared at the cards on the floor.

"How did those get there?" he said, his voice awkwardly high.

"You're lucky Zabini didn't notice," Malfoy said as he walked away, grabbing his parchment. "But next time, try to be more discreet." He paused before ascending the stairs to the dorm. "On the other hand... Nice going. Looks like there's a _little_ Slytherin in you after all."

Ed jumped up and stomped one foot on the ground. "WHO DID YOU SAY WAS SMALL LIKE A GRAIN OF RICE AND DOESN'T SHOW UP IN YOUR EYES?"

Draco smirked again and disappeared up the stairs. Ed waited for the sound of his footsteps to fade away and then hung his head.

"I can't believe I got caught," he mumbled to himself.

He sighed again as he gathered all the cards (including the ones on the floor) and tucked them away. Ed turned to look at the fire for a moment before what Draco had told him began to sink in. His face twisted in disappointment and he began to scratch his head furiously with both hands.

"GAH! I DON'T WANNA BE SLYTHERIN!"

* * *

The next week of school passed without much trouble... except for Edward having problems with his Transfiguration class. The idea of being able to turn living things into inanimate objects and vice versa was unnerving for an alchemist such as himself. During the last class, he had vehemently protested against transfiguring a tiny mouse into a tall vase, refusing to do _anything _to another living being. When McGonagall asked why, Ed just gave her an insolent shake of his head and folded his arms over his chest stubbornly. He had wound up with a detention. 

Charms class was a bit unsettling to Ed as well, simply because of all the required wand work. No matter how many times he used magic, he still insisted on finding a logical explanation to how it worked. He continued to pour over his books during their breaks, searching for answers to his questions. He had yet to find any.

Apart from that, Ed was starting to get used to his surroundings. Hogwarts was definitely a very bizarre place. Sometimes the paintings would start talking to Ed as he walked by and the ghosts that just wandered about the halls aimlessly still made him nervous. It was as though everything that he no longer believed in existed here, and it really had Ed rattled for the first few days. But he was slowly starting to get used to it, having reduced his reaction from a shocked jump backward to an eye twitch.

As Ed followed Draco and his friends to dinner, they were stopped in the entrance way by Professor Slughorn.

"Mr. Zabini, Mr. Elric!" he greeted them eagerly, puffing out his enormous belly and twiddling with his moustache. "Just who I've been hoping to see. I was hoping to catch you before dinner! What do you say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead? We're having a little party, just a few rising stars, I've got McLaggen coming and the charming Melinda Bobbin -"

"Sorry, sir," Ed interrupted politely, "but I've got detention with Professor McGonagall."

"Oh dear, that's too bad," Slughorn frowned. He then turned to Blaise. "How about you, Mr. Zabini?"

"Oh, uh, I..." Zabini took a step back, frantically searching his mind for some kind of excuse and failing miserably. "Um... Sure. I suppose I can-"

"Excellent!" the professor boomed. "Yes, well then, I'll see you there!"

He then bustled out of the Hall. Zabini groaned, saying something angrily under his breath. Draco screwed up his face as he watched Slughorn walk away. He then turned on Zabini and glared, which was returned with a dumbfounded look. With a loud snort, Draco turned on his heel and stormed into the Great Hall. Pansy looked between everyone for a few confused moments before chasing after Draco. Ed and Blaise were left behind, a confused expression on Blaise's face.

"Don't know what his problem is," Zabini sighed. "I'd give anything to trade places with him. Like I _really _want to have supper with that arse _Slughorn_."

Ed shrugged his shoulders and slowly entered the Great Hall. Before he got too far he turned back around, a mocking grin plastered across his face as he waved with false enthusiasm.

"Have fun!"

He then left Zabini fuming in the entrance way behind him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** hehehe... i was compelled to do the poker stuff because of episode 10 of FMA, the one that starts out with Ed and Al playing poker... i don't know much about poker, but i tried. (sweatdrop) anyways, yeah...really short chapter, this one... HOORAY FOR TRANSITION CHAPTERS :P


	8. Encounters

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **thanks again for all the beautiful reviews! though i still think that chapter 7 was kinda done just for the hell of it. :P _(looks at people's reviews again) _ooh...dost my eyes deceive me? did somebody ask for more interaction with the infamous Gryffindor trio? _(evil grin)_

* * *

**Chapter 8  
****Encounters**

Going to the owlery first thing in the morning probably wasn't the best idea. The arctic air of autumn was rendering Ed's face weather-beaten as he ascended the West Tower and he pulled his red jacket tighter around his body. His head felt groggy and a part of him was cursing himself for waking up so early. It was the weekend; he had no classes to go to, and he should have been free. The only problem was that every single day Ed spent in Hogwarts, he was on duty. When classes were done, that meant it was time for military duties to come back into play. He growled at the rolled up parchment in his hand as he trudged up the steps. His first report to headquarters.

He had merely written about the conversation Draco and his friends had on the train ride over to Hogwarts, confirming the fact that Draco was indeed a good lead on Voldemort. Ed also wrote about Snape, how he seemed to be a Dark Arts lover and was overall suspicious, and about Hermione Granger, who seemed to have some kind of connection with Draco. Other than that, there wasn't much to be said. The entire report was, as Ed had grown accustomed to doing since he became a state alchemist, encoded, in order to keep it inconspicuous and safe from interception.

Ed blinked slowly as he entered the owlery at the top of the tower, looking around sleepily for Eule, the tiny barn owl that Mustang had sent to him. He then approached her slowly, still wary of her from their first encounter in the Great Hall. Sure enough, as soon as Ed came close she tried to peck at his right arm, but he had been expecting it and quickly moved his hand away. Too sleepy to do much of anything else, he just glared at Eule.

"Dumb bird," he muttered. "I'm not lettin' you rip my clothes whenever you want."

The owl seemed rather insulted to have missed her target, ruffling up her feathers. Ed removed the glove on his right hand and rolled up his sleeve before reaching toward Eule a second time, expecting her to peck at his arm again. However, it seemed like Eule had just wanted to see Edward's auto-mail, as she merely tilted her head to the side and hopped a little bit closer. Ed blinked slowly and then smiled.

"I get it. Someone must have trained you to recognize me by my auto-mail."

He patted the top of Eule's head, amused by this cleverly trained owl. Ed then took out his report and unrolled it again. He transmuted something to write with and used it to add an extra note to the bottom of his report: _Good job training the owl._

With a small, satisfied smile, Ed rolled the parchment back up and attached it to Eule's leg. The owl seemed to understand this perfectly and immediately hopped toward the nearest opening and took off for East City Headquarters. Ed watched Eule go for a moment, pulling his glove back on his auto-mail hand and tugging the sleeves of his jacket down. He then picked up the small pen he had transmuted and fiddled with it for a moment between his fingers.

"I should write something to Al. I'll bet he wants to know all about this place."

He searched for some parchment or something to write on and then began.

_Dear Al,_

_Hogwarts is probably one of the weirdest places I've ever been to. You wouldn't believe the stuff they've got over here! There are all these ghosts wandering around, and the people in the paintings can move and talk when you pass by. Yes, they actually talk to you. It's hard to explain, but maybe I'll get to show you sometime.  
__I've been learning magic over here. It's really weird. I can do it, there isn't really a problem there, but it doesn't make any sense. There's no equivalent exchange anywhere! I already got detention when I questioned one of the teachers about it. I've been reading all these books, trying to figure this whole magic thing out. By all accounts, it _shouldn't _work, but it does!  
__Apart from the weird stuff, everything's going fine over here... I guess. That Draco kid is taller than I am! It's not fair! And his friends are one hell of an annoying bunch. Especially this girl that keeps playing with my hair. They keep making fun of this kid named Harry Potter. No idea what their problem is. I think he's alright, from what I've seen of him so far.  
__There's also this girl, Hermione Granger. Seems like she's pretty much the brain around here and everyone knows it. Not too sure about this, but Draco seems to have some kind of thing for her. Every time her name comes up, he starts acting weird. Can't say I blame him, I mean, she's pretty and all, plus her smarts... uh... Not a word of this goes out to Winry, okay? I'm just saying.  
__Hope everything's okay on your end. I know this owl thing is weird, but it's the only way to send mail from here. Maybe it's a British thing... Well, that's it for now. Say hi to Winry for me._

_-Ed_

Happy to have finally gotten some of his thoughts out, Ed rolled the sheet of paper up and attached it to the leg of one of the other owls. He watched as the owl set off for Amestris with a small, pleased smile on his face.

* * *

Since it was a Saturday morning, the Slytherin common room was empty; everyone was still in the dorms fast asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Edward. He was seated comfortably by the fireplace, warming himself up after his journey to the top of the West Tower. There was a copy of the_ Daily Prophet_ in his hands, which he was flipping through slowly. One particular article had caught his attention; he had gone over it again and again since the first time he read it. It mentioned a recent search of the Malfoy residence conducted by the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defense Spells and Protective Objects, acting upon a confidential tip-off. It hadn't yielded any results, but just the fact that the Malfoy home had been searched for dangerous items...

Ed sighed as he rolled up the newspaper and rose to his feet. He pulled out his silver pocket watch to check the time. It was almost 9:30; the other students would probably be waking up soon to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. After that, most of them would probably go right back to the dorms to sleep. Just thinking about that was making Ed feel like sleeping again. With a loud yawn, Ed stuffed his watch back into his pocket and went back to their room.

Unfortunately for Ed, as soon as he entered the room, Draco and Zabini clambered out of their beds. His shoulders dropped and Ed hung his head.

"Can't you guys go back to sleep for another ten minutes?"

Neither of them answered. Zabini stretched his arms out and yawned while Draco pulled out his robes to change. Crabbe and Goyle were starting to stir in their beds as well. Ed groaned, dragging himself over to his bed and flopping himself upon it face first. The others just looked at him from under their half-shut eyelids.

"What were you up so early for?" Zabini mumbled sleepily.

"Muhh reeffun," came Ed's response from within his mattress.

"What?"

Ed rolled his head over. "No reason," he said again. "I just couldn't sleep, I guess."

Draco pointed tiredly at Ed's clothes. "Why aren't you wearing your robes?"

"Didn't feel like it. We don't have any classes today, so I figured it wouldn't matter."

The young Slytherin shook his head disapprovingly as he rose to his feet. Ed groaned inwardly. He was starting to remind him of the colonel. Draco then eyed the rolled up newspaper that Ed was still hanging onto. Ed noticed this and raised the newspaper, extending it toward him.

"Here. I'm done reading it."

Zabini looked over at them both, the sleep still in his eyes. "Didn't know you lot read the news. What happened, then? Anyone get murdered last night?"

Both teenagers groaned at Zabini's ignorance. Malfoy reached over to snatch the paper from Ed's hands and then marched off to change into his robes. Ed watched him go from where he was still lying on the bed, wondering why he left the room since Zabini just changed next to his bed. He dismissed it as weird behavior on Draco's part and shut his eyes in an attempt to take a quick nap before everyone was ready and they went to the Great Hall.

It wasn't long before the entire Slytherin group (and Ed) was walking down the corridors to get something to eat, looking relatively intimidating as they did so. Strangely enough, Draco could not be found in the middle of the group as he usually was. In fact, he seemed somewhat disconnected from them, a thoughtful glaze over his silver eyes. But everyone was so busy laughing amongst themselves and bullying anyone who crossed their path that none of them noticed Draco's behavior except for Ed. After all, it was his job to take note of any strange behavior.

_'Wonder if this has anything to do with that article...'_

He glanced over at Draco and watched him carefully for a moment before turning away. Ed and Draco remained silent as they walked to the Great Hall, both seemingly lost in their own heads. If Draco's strange behavior did happen to concern the newspaper article, then it wasn't much to worry about. Who wouldn't be shocked to find out that their house had been searched? But on the other hand... The other Slytherins just went on their way without giving it a second thought.

It was only when they arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall that they really noticed.

"Where's Drakey?" Pansy squealed, looking around her in a panic.

Crabbe/Goyle slowly turned around, his eyes sweeping up and down the corridor. "Wasn't he just here?"

Pansy shuffled her feet anxiously, wringing her hands. "Ooh... Where did he go?"

"Could he have gotten lost?"

Zabini smacked the Crabbe/Goyle that spoke upside the head. "Since when does Malfoy ever get himself lost?"

"Draco...!" Pansy whimpered. "Where are you?"

Ed also looked up and down the corridor, his brow furrowed. He mentally cursed himself for not realizing that his charge had vanished and for having such a stupid job in the first place. And if Pansy was going to continue to worry about Draco in that annoying high-pitched voice of hers, Ed would have to wring her neck. With an annoyed groan, Ed started down the corridor.

"I'll go look for him," he said, hoping he sounded sincerely helpful. "You guys go to breakfast."

Crabbe/Goyle blinked in shock. "You're not eating, then?"

The mere mention of food made Ed's stomach growl. He ignored the complaints of his stomach as he turned back to the others and smirked slightly. "I'll eat later."

"But _Ed-dy_!" Pansy whined loudly.

He whirled around, a vein bulging out on his head. "STOP CALLING ME THAT ALREADY! And quit whining, you're pissing me off! Go eat breakfast!"

Everyone looked shocked as Ed spun back around and continued walking. Pansy was about to open her mouth to protest when Zabini practically pushed them all into the Great Hall. A part of Ed was amused by the fact that Draco played such a central role to their lives. He was their life-line; without him around, they were lost and confused. It was funny, but tragically pathetic at the same time.

The young alchemist hurried up and down the corridors, searching Hogwarts for any signs of Draco and getting increasingly hungry and irritated. Ed had abandoned speed walking and decided to run up and down the halls, in spite of the constant verbal scolding he was getting from the various paintings on the walls.

"No running in the halls, young man!"

"Goodness gracious!"

"Stop this instant!"

And so the people in the paintings all exclaimed as Ed dashed past them. He didn't really care much for their opinion since they were just paintings stuck on the wall... Until one painting of a proper, wealthy looking old couple glared at Ed as he passed.

"Look at that little boy! No regard for rules whatsoever."

"The very _nerve _of these first-years..."

Ed screeched to a halt and turned on them in a fit of rage. "WHO DID YOU SAY WAS A SUPER-ULTRA SHORT KID?"

The man in the painting blinked in surprise and then twisted his face angrily. "I _do _beg your pardon! I said nothing of the sort!"

"Honestly!" his wife scoffed. "Children these days. No manners at all."

"I am _not _a child!" Ed shouted. "And I'm lookin' for someone, okay? So _sor-ry _for being in a hurry, but I'm missing a meal for this!"

The lady narrowed her eyes. "He's quite rude, isn't he?"

Her husband nodded his head in agreement. "Quite."

"He could certainly use a few lessons in manners. There need to be fewer of these vulgar brutish types in the world."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Ed yelled angrily, stomping his right foot on the floor.

"That other boy just a while ago seemed polite," the old lady continued, still ignoring Edward. "He _walked _down the corridor and didn't utter a word."

The old man just nodded again. "Brought up right, he was."

Ed's ears perked up. "Other boy? What other boy?"

"Handsome young man, wasn't he?"

"That he was! Much like myself, in my younger days."

His wife merely laughed delicately. "Indeed! Though I can't say that you had the same platinum-blonde hair that he had."

He also laughed as his wife fingered the neat white fringe on his balding head. While they seemed to enjoy themselves, reminiscing about their painted memories, Ed's mind was racing. They had to have meant Draco. After all, how many kids at Hogwarts could possibly have hair that color? It was practically bleached!

"Which way did he go?" Ed asked the old couple in a loud voice.

They continued to ignore him. "Wasn't he wearing Slytherin robes, darling?"

"As a matter of fact, I believe he was."

Ed leapt forward and grabbed the edges of the painting. "WHICH WAY DID HE GO?"

Both the lady and man were flabbergasted by the loud outburst as they stared wide-eyed at Ed. It was clear that they had never been spoken to in such a way before, as neither one of the rich couple knew how to respond. They looked at one another as though looking for help, only to find none. Though the expression on his face was one of annoyance and impatience, Ed grinned inwardly, relishing in the fact that he had frightened the spoiled old couple. The old lady whapped her husband insistently with her fan, gesturing for him to answer Ed and practically hiding behind him.

"If I'm not mistaken, he was going to that stairwell." He pointed to a set of stairs further down the corridor that led up. The old man then turned back to his wife. "Strange destination for a Slytherin, don't you think? Doesn't that way lead to the Gryffindor tower?"

"Yes it does," she confirmed. "I wonder what on _earth _that boy could want over there."

The old man nodded his head thoughtfully and turned back to Ed. "But, I say, what is your business with the young lad?"

But Ed had already gone, dashing down the corridor toward the mentioned staircase. His mind was consumed with thoughts of his self-proclaimed reward; a big, hearty meal. The old couple watched Edward run away, more aggravated than ever.

"How utterly _rude_," the old lady said disapprovingly. "Not even so much as a 'thank you.'"

* * *

Edward whirled around as he ran down the corridors. He hadn't been on the seventh floor since the first day of school, and he had to admit that he liked it better there than in the dungeons. It was much brighter and roomier up there, and Ed wondered if the pleasantness of the seventh floor corridors was part of the reason why Slytherins didn't like Gryffindors. Being hidden beneath the lake was definitely cool in its own way, though. But no matter what, nothing could beat being outside in the fresh air, a sensation that Ed sorely missed.

As soon as he turned the corner, Ed found his white-blonde charge. Draco seemed to be wandering aimlessly up and down the hall, a thoughtful expression on his face. If Ed didn't know any better, he'd say that Draco looked lost and in desperate need of something. Forcing his anger to bubble just below the surface, Ed clenched his fists and walked over to him.

"Draco!"

He instinctively drew his wand and turned at the sound of his name, his eyes wide for a surprised moment. Once he realized that it was just Ed, Draco lowered his wand slightly, his face falling into an annoyed scowl.

"What are _you _doing here?" he snapped.

"Looking for you. What are you doing all the way up here?"

Malfoy sneered. "Looking for me? Touching."

"Don't get me wrong," Ed said with a glare. "I just had to get away from Pansy's whining and complaining. She was driving me crazy!"

Draco snickered. "Consider yourself lucky. You've only known her for two weeks. I, on the other hand, have been stuck with her for the past six years."

A disgusted chill ran up Ed's spine and he shuddered. "Damn."

The Slytherin smirked at his reaction. Draco then glanced up and down the hallway once more before walking away. Ed hesitated before following and looked around to see if he could find out what Draco had been doing until he arrived. When he saw nothing out of the ordinary, Ed turned to follow him. Malfoy glanced over at him, a mildly confused and agitated look in his grey eyes.

"Do you _have _to follow me around?"

For a moment Ed was confused, but he quickly recovered with a smirk on his face. "What happened to us being friends?"

"We're _not _friends," Draco growled. "I was just told to show you around Hogwarts by Dumbledore and my mother."

"So show me around," said Ed, jamming his hands into his pockets again. "You're supposed to be a... a prefect or something, right? Isn't that part of your job?"

Draco turned to look at Ed in confusion. "How do you know that? I never once mentioned my being a prefect to you."

A small part of Ed panicked. That was true. He had read about Draco's prefect position from the file he received at the start of the mission. Never once had any of the Slytherins mentioned it, which definitely struck Ed as strange. Someone like Draco would relish in the power that one was granted with being a prefect, and his friends were certainly the kind of people to take advantage of it. But Draco hadn't once exercised his authority since the school year began.

"Your mom said something about it," Ed told him quickly.

"Oh." Draco dropped his gaze and was quiet for a moment. When he raised his head again, his expression remained as stern as ever. "Well, Mother doesn't know anything anymore. She can't order me around, I'm not a child. I've my own agenda now."

The words hit a soft spot. Ed immediately stopped walking, his eyes wide. He suddenly felt like he had talked to himself. It was very strange, almost like he had looked into one of those magical mirrors he had come across in books. However, there was one very prominent distinction between them. Ed hid his eyes as he resumed walking, his pace quicker than before so that he could catch up to Draco.

"You should listen to your mother," Ed said in a quiet yet stern voice. "You don't know how much longer she'll be with you."

Strangely enough, there was a flash of fear in Draco's deep silver eyes. He watched Ed as they continued to walk down the hallway, stunned. A very serious, almost frightening expression was on Ed's face, as though he were enduring great pain. For one of the first times in his young life, Draco Malfoy was afraid of someone that wasn't his father.

That's when three familiar Gryffindors entered the corridor. As soon as they did, Ed's serious expression washed away and Draco's scowl returned. Harry and his friends had been talking amongst themselves as they walked, something about Quidditch and someone named Hagrid, but as soon as they saw Ed and Draco they fell silent. All of a sudden they looked rather upset, their almost vicious glares directed mainly at Draco.

"What are you doing up here, Malfoy?" Ron asked sharply.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Nothing a blood traitor like _you _would understand, weasel."

The red-head took a step forward, his lips tightly pressed together in a straight line. He seemed to be trying very hard to keep himself from doing something stupid. Ron's eyes wandered the corridor, lingering on Ed for just a moment before returning to Malfoy, a hint of a smile on his face. Ed rolled his eyes at Ron's slight rise in confidence; he obviously thought he had an advantage. Was he ever wrong.

"What's happened to your 'friends', ferret?"

The white-blonde sneered, fingering the handle of his wand. "Does it make a difference? With them or not, you're no match for me."

Harry slowly reached for his wand, but Ed grabbed his wrist and held him back. When Harry looked at him with his green eyes wide in surprise, Ed just quietly shook his head and released him. Meanwhile, Hermione had turned to Ron, laying a hand on his shoulder and pulling him away from the glaring contest he and Malfoy had engaged themselves in.

"Stop it, Ron. Honestly, it's not worth it, and we've got to get going."

The redhead glanced at Hermione briefly, contemplating whether or not he should obey. After a moment he quietly withdrew, rejoining his friends as they all turned to leave. Ed could have sworn he detected a hint of jealousy and hurt in Draco's face.

"What's wrong, weasel?" he teased. "Need your little girlfriend to care for you?"

Ron's face practically turned as red as his hair. Hermione quickly spun around, her hair swishing into her face.

"I am _not _his girlfriend!" she said angrily.

Before Hermione could continue, Ron turned back around and made an angry movement toward Malfoy. She tried to pull him back again, but this time Ron resisted and yanked his arm away from her grasp. He drew his wand and pointed it at Draco, but before he could even open his mouth to speak, Ed jumped into the space between them and pushed Ron's arm so he was pointing at the ceiling. Both Harry and Hermione gasped; the whole thing happened so quickly that there had barely been time to react. Ron blinked in surprise.

"What-"

"Cut it out," Ed said, his voice even and firm. He then let go of Ron's arm and turned so that he could see Draco. "Don't know about you, but we haven't eaten yet and I'm starved."

Draco quickly recovered from his surprise, straightening and walking casually down the corridor towards the stairs. "I suppose you're right, Elric. These filth aren't worth my time."

He pushed past the Gryffindors, giving Ron a particularly rough shove. Ed just followed after him without a word, sticking his hands back into his pockets. Ron looked especially aggravated, breathing heavily through his nose as they left. It was obvious that he felt the need to have the last word.

"Since when do you need a midget to fight for you?"

Ed's previously bottled frustration exploded forward. He instantly spun around on his heel to face the offender, his gold eyes practically spewing fire.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY BUG THAT ESCAPES THE WRATH OF A SHOE BECAUSE HE'S SO SMALL THAT HE FITS THROUGH THE GROOVES AND CAN'T BE SQUASHED?"

Suddenly, everyone in the corridor was completely thunderstruck. Ron paled slightly at the ferocious look on Ed's face.

"I-"

"I'M STILL GROWIN' HERE! WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GONNA CALL ME? A SHRIMP? A SUPER SMALL SPECK? BRING IT ON, REDHEAD!"

"He didn't say any of that, Ed!" Harry protested, trying to calm him down.

"DON'T JUDGE A MAN BY HIS SIZE!" Ed raged with his fists flailing in the air.

The sudden and explosive outburst on Ed's part was truly amusing to Draco. He tried not to grin as he reached over, grabbed Edward by the back of his collar and pulled him away. Ron staggered backward, bumping into Harry and Hermione behind him.

"Let's just go, please," Hermione said. "If Malfoy says we're not worth it..." She looked pointedly back at Malfoy as he walked away. "...Neither is he."

For the briefest of moments, a very pained expression flashed across Draco's face. His grip on Ed's collar tightened and he practically threw Ed forward. Ed blinked in surprise, noticing the abrupt change in his demeanor, and looked back to where Harry, Hermione and Ron were still standing.

"Let's get out of here before you hurt yourself, Elric," Draco said gruffly.

He then turned and just about stormed down the corridor. Ed hesitated before following, somewhat confused by the change. With one final glance back at the Gryffindors, both Slytherins disappeared down the stairwell.

* * *

**Author's Note: **hehehe... that bug squishing thing cracks me up. oh, that reminds me. all Ed's anti-short outbursts were gotten from Fullmetal-Alchemist dot com! i thank them eternally for recording them all on their site. it's hard to think of good anti-short outbursts so i just got ones that Ed really did have... until i can come up with my own. :P


	9. Cold Weather

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **wow, the timing here is amazing. you want angst? then have some. dig in. XD

* * *

**_Chapter 9  
_****Cold Weather**

The fire had been raging for hours now. The house crumbled amongst the flames. Everyone watched. They had to squint through the waves of heat to see. Tears pricked at her eyes. She turned to look at them. Their faces were steely as ever.

A young boy screamed as his body crumbled apart. A giant gate appeared. A mysterious figure grinned. He was asking for payment. His leg became his. His arm became his. Blood. There was blood everywhere. There was screaming through tears.

Images of his mother flashed through his mind. A beautiful lady. No. A bloody mass. A transmutation gone horribly wrong. It gasped for breath. Its eyes seemed to glow. Its hand reached up and beckoned for him to approach.

There was fire. There was fire everywhere.

He reached forward, running through an empty, endless darkness. He ran toward a tiny shimmer of light, his arm outstretched. There was a boy just ahead, but he was always just beyond his reach. A hand reached out and touched his cheek gently from behind. He turned around to see who it was...

And screamed.

* * *

Edward shot up in bed, his eyes wide in horror and his chest heaving. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, which he slowly wiped away with his sleeve. He did his best to calm himself down, running his hands through his long hair.

_'A dream,'_ he told himself. _'Just a dream...'_

He adjusted his position, preparing himself to get out of bed and change into the school robes. But as soon as he moved, he winced at the gnawing ache in his right shoulder and his left leg. Ed sucked in air through his teeth, keeping himself from crying out. The mechanical limbs creaked slightly as he instinctively wrapped his arms around his auto-mail leg and curled up into a ball. His gold eyes remained fixated on a spot in front of him as Ed worked to calm his mind, recovering from the raw memories that surfaced in his dream.

It had been about a month since Ed first arrived at Hogwarts. He'd sent off two reports to headquarters so far, the most recent of which informed the colonel of Draco's occasional disappearing acts. He and Al were sending letters to one another as well; they were usually just updates on what was happening in both of their lives. After all, they were the only family each other had and they felt the need to be sure of the other's safety.

After a long moment of silence, Ed pulled himself out of bed and slowly changed into his robes. He glanced out the window, wondering what time it was, and discovered once again that the sun was not visible from where they were. Ed reached into his trunk and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. But the position of the hands on the clock face barely registered in his mind. His attention was caught by a crudely etched message on the inside of the lid.

_Don't forget 3.Oct.11_

His gaze hardened at the warning and he put the watch into his pocket. It was barely past dawn and Ed found himself wide awake. Draco and the others were still fast asleep, comfortable in their beds. Ed narrowed his eyes at a few of them. There was no doubt in his mind that none of their dreams were haunted by ghosts and sins. He walked out of the dorm, his nightmares and the aching of his auto-mail joints having put him in no mood to deal with the ignorant Slytherins.

When everyone else awoke and gathered in the common room, they found Ed sitting on the floor near the fireplace, staring into the dancing flames. As soon as they tried to approach him, Ed quickly got to his feet and walked out of the common room, heading for the Great Hall. He kept his gaze to floor; he didn't even give any of them so much as a sidelong glance. He just trudged down the corridors, his hands in his pockets and a sour look on his face that could beat Snape's any day of the week.

He gave them similar treatment all throughout breakfast. Ed didn't say a word to anyone and just picked at the food in front of him. Crabbe and Goyle were disappointed to not get another of Ed's food gorging displays, but kept glancing over at him as though expecting it to start at any moment. Pansy tried to keep herself busy doting over Draco. Draco ignored her and tried to read the _Daily Prophet_. Zabini, on the other hand, did _not _like being ignored.

"Hey Elric," he called from across the table. "What's with you today? Come on, say something!"

No response.

"I wonder if Eddy's all right," Pansy said, glancing at the young blonde.

"Leave him alone," Draco muttered as he flipped to the next page of the newspaper and scanned it. "You'll just waste your breath."

Crabbe/Goyle eyed Ed's plate, still half full. "He's not even eating his eggs..."

When Ed heard this he pushed his plate over toward whoever had spoken and rested his chin in his hands. Crabbe/Goyle accepted the half-eaten meal happily and ate it as fast as he could. Zabini moved so that he was sitting directly across from Ed and leaned toward him.

"I challenge you to a poker game," he said. "Same conditions as last time, how 'bout it?"

Ed remained perfectly silent while Zabini continued to keep himself in Ed's direct line of vision, which only made him angrier. He eventually tuned out Zabini's nagging and looked through one of the high windows in the Great Hall. The young alchemist growled when he saw the grey sky and the pouring rain outside. He narrowed his eyes as he massaged the aching flesh near the auto-mail port on his leg. Zabini noticed the change and followed his gaze. He then looked back and forth between the window and Ed's scowling face.

"Don't like the rain, Elric?"

The alchemist averted his eyes and stared at the wooden grain of the long table. "It's not that I don't like it," he said softly. "It's just..."

He let his voice trail off there. It wasn't that he didn't like the rain. It was the horrible memories that were associated with it. He was just reminded of all the terrible things that he had seen in his young life. There was no sense in getting these people - these innocent kids - involved in his dark past. They didn't have to know what he had seen.

Draco cast a sideways glance at him, a thoughtful gleam in his silver eyes. He then turned to the next page of the newspaper and scanned it quickly. Ed rotated his sore right shoulder and gingerly rubbed at the scarred flesh.

Zabini leaned forward a little more. "Just what? What's wrong with you?"

Edward just shook his head slowly, refusing to say anything more as he continued to rub his aching shoulder. As soon as Pansy noticed this, she turned to him a little too eagerly.

"Do your shoulders hurt, Eddy? I'll massage them for you..."

Before she could lay her hands on his shoulders, Ed sprang away from the table and practically slapped Pansy's hands away. "DON'T!"

Having yelled so suddenly and angrily, everyone nearby turned to look at Ed in shock. Pansy and the rest of Draco's group looked just as surprised and shocked. She even looked rather offended to have been yelled at. Ed wrapped his fingers around his right arm carefully, as though he were trying to protect it from everyone's stares.

Just then, the bell signaling the start of classes went off. Everyone returned to normal, turning back to quickly gather their things and file out of the Great Hall. Pansy and Zabini hurried out of the Hall, muttering something about Edward under their breath as they went. Crabbe and Goyle hurried off to refill their platters, looking as though someone was chasing after them. Draco snorted at all of them as he watched them leave. He then chucked the newspaper onto the table and grabbed his books.

"Come on."

The look on Ed's face grew even sourer as he grabbed his books. He managed to catch a glimpse of the front page of the day's edition of the _Daily Prophet_. Ed drew in a sharp breath as he saw the date written on the page.

October 3.

A very vivid image of a burning house flashed before his eyes. Ed smiled darkly, his gold eyes flat as he let out a soft, humorless laugh. That explained the nightmare. It was just his own dumb luck that it happened to be raining. He threw his head back as his laughter grew stronger and louder, though its tone was still dry. Draco stopped in his tracks and looked back at Ed, unsettled by his strange behavior.

Ed managed to calm himself before his laughter became maniacal, taking in a deep breath. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Traces of a smile remained on his face, though it was rather sad and bitter looking.

"Stand up," he whispered to no one in particular, "and walk. Move forward."

Though short and simple, there was a power to the words that Ed always had to keep in mind. Draco gave him a strange look before continuing on his way to their first class. Edward slowly turned to follow him, stuffing his free hand into his pocket. He fiddled with his silver pocket watch for the entire walk to their History of Magic class.

* * *

It rained for the rest of the day. Ed's joints continued to ache. The day was a complete disaster. He couldn't bring himself to focus on a single one of his subjects as his mind had traveled elsewhere. He kept seeing images of a burning house and their failed attempt at human transmutation. Ed couldn't really remember what had happened in any of the day's classes. He thought someone had given him a detention or some kind of punishment for spacing out, but he couldn't remember what class it was for. It didn't really matter to him either way. The only thing he knew for sure was that their astronomy class had been cancelled because of the poor weather, which was why Ed was sitting in the rain at the top of the West Tower, just outside of the owlery. 

Draco had to go to Quidditch practice in spite of the pouring rain, which was perfect because Ed had felt the need to write a quick letter to Al. He had just given the note to Eule to be delivered.

_Keep moving forward. Don't look back.  
__Stay safe.  
__Wish you were here._

_-Ed_

When Ed really thought about it, when October 3rd came around each year he had never put as much weight on it as he had at that moment. Maybe it was because Al wasn't around for the first time. It was still strange being separated from him.

He raised his head and looked up into the sky. The rain continued to fall on his face from the dark clouds above him. Ed watched each rain drop fall with his gold eyes. He hoped with all his might that the rain would wash away all the doubt and sadness, only to find that the rain on his face was starting to bug him and make him depressed. Then he remembered the last time he had felt that way. He recalled Al saying he could no longer feel the rain on his skin, having lost his body of flesh and blood...

_"Even if it means doing something as impossible and hopeless as turning against the currents of the world..."_

Ed stood and silently walked back to the Slytherin common room. He winced at the aching of his joints. They hurt more than ever now.

* * *

The rain continued on and off for the next week or so, during which Ed did his best to take his mind off of the past and focus. He absorbed himself more completely in his duties, both as a student and as a spy. However, Draco was starting to disappear more and more frequently and finding him was becoming difficult. His mind strayed much more often and he seemed to care about things less and less, except for, strangely enough, the upcoming Hogsmeade visit. He seemed very anxious about it, and though he was able to hide it very well from his other friends, Ed could see straight through the act. 

The Saturday of the Hogsmeade visit arrived with a thick layer of snow. In Ed's opinion, snow was infinitely worse than rain, since it made his auto-mail limbs very cold. It was like having ice attached to his body, which was not a very pleasant experience. Everyone else seemed to find snow enjoyable as they cheerily wrapped themselves up in the appropriate winter wear. The entire Great Hall rippled with excitement during breakfast as everyone talked about the day's Hogsmeade visit.

"So are we heading off as well?" Pansy asked the group.

"I should think so," Zabini said with a shrug. "Anything to get out of this bloody castle. Am I right, Malfoy?"

Draco seemed to consider the idea for a moment before finally nodding his head, which apparently settled the matter. Crabbe and Goyle looked at one another with dark smiles on their faces and Zabini said something about getting his hands on some firewhiskey. Ed laughed quietly as he ate his breakfast. It was rather amusing that the Slytherins felt the need to hide their excitement about going to Hogsmeade. In spite of their bored tones and nonchalant shrugs, somewhere deep inside they truly wanted to go. Then the Slytherins turned to look at Ed.

"Are you coming with us, Eddy?" Pansy asked.

The young alchemist looked up at them, his wide-eyed gaze moving from one face to the other. He swallowed his latest mouthful of food before answering. "I was gonna ask earlier, but... What's the deal with this Hogsmeade visit, anyway?"

Every one of them suddenly turned on Edward as though he had said something horrible. He grinned inwardly, fascinated by the fact that they had all taken so much offense in something that they tried not to be excited for. He wanted to laugh at them, but he instead reached for the biggest sandwich he could find on the table spread.

"You don't know anything, do you, Elric?" muttered Zabini, sounding annoyed and amused at the same time.

Ed took a huge bite out of his sandwich. "Exchange student. Remember?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "It's one of few times that we actually get to leave this festering old castle," he said sharply. "We get to go down to that town by the train station for a little fresh air." He smirked slightly. "And we could certainly use it, with all these losers suffocating us inside the castle."

Stuffing another sandwich into his mouth Ed nodded his head thoughtfully. Crabbe and Goyle were watching him eat again, their eyes wide as they observed his impressive eating speed.

"So we just walk down there or something?"

"_Walk_?" Pansy echoed, looking horrified. "Of course not! We take the carriages."

"You coming, Elric?" Zabini prompted.

Before Ed could answer, Draco interrupted. "I don't reckon he _can_," he told his cronies. "You need to have a permission slip to go, remember? _Signed _by a parent or guardian. It's a little late for him to ask for one now."

The others looked like they were beginning to understand something for the first time, nodding their heads dumbly as the fact settled in. Ed narrowed his eyes at the smug, victorious look on Draco's face.

_'Yeah, you'd _like _to be rid of me, huh?' _he thought coldly as he downed his pumpkin juice. He wanted to tell them that he was practically his own guardian, but instead casually shrugged his shoulders and said, "We'll see."

Draco glared at Ed slightly for a moment, not liking the tone in his voice at all, but eventually turned back to his so-called friends. While they all discussed their plans for the day, Eule soared into the Great Hall and landed swiftly on the table in front of Ed. He blinked, looking at the letter she was carrying in confusion.

_'Must be from Al,' _Ed thought.

Making sure that no one would notice, the alchemist rolled his right sleeve up just slightly to reveal the glint of metal at his wrist. He had managed to train the owl not to peck at his right arm without warning and to simply wait for him to reveal the metallic gleam from beneath his clothes. As soon as she had confirmed his identity, Eule hopped forward approvingly and offered Ed the letter. He quickly fixed his sleeve and reached for it.

He froze abruptly, surprised to see a military seal stamped on it. The colonel didn't usually send any replies after receiving Ed's reports, the latest of which Ed had sent during dinner the night before. He had notified the higher ups of Draco's disappearing acts and their increase in frequency, and also mentioned Draco's unusual anxiety for the Hogsmeade visit. There didn't seem to have been any need for a reply.

"Who's it from, Eddy?" asked Pansy, peering over at the small barn owl.

Ed grimaced at the sound of Pansy's voice. He forced out a nervous laugh, his mind racing to think of something to say. "Uh... Just something from back home, I guess."

Pansy wrinkled her pug-nose slightly as she watched Ed take the letter into his hands. She then nodded absently and turned away, allowing Ed to let out a relieved breath. He was glad that her mind was filled with too many thoughts about Hogsmeade to pry any further. Everyone then continued to discuss their plans for the day. Ed handed his half-eaten toast to Eule, dismissing her as he read the message. He snorted at its contents.

_Go with the boy to Hogsmeade. Remember: You have to keep an eye on him.  
__You'll need authorization for the trip, so I've enclosed the permission slip with this letter._

With an annoyed frown, Ed peered into the envelope and checked for the permission slip. Sure enough, there it was, signed by one Roy Mustang. Ed fished the slip out and glared hatefully at it. That bastard colonel was really enjoying his newfound faux guardianship over him. He was going to have to remember to do something horrible to Mustang as soon as he could. In the meantime, he had some "bad news" for Draco the antagonistic.

"Looks like I'm going to Hogsmeade," he said nonchalantly as he tucked the letter away.

The others rounded on him quickly, confused and surprised looks in their eyes. Draco merely raised an eyebrow.

"What d'you mean?"

A small grin crossed Ed's lips as he laid down the permission slip for everyone to see. "Read it and weep, Malfoy."

Pansy and Zabini smiled slightly as soon as they recognized the permission slip. Draco frowned and turned away to glare at his empty plate on the table. Clearly he didn't want Ed following him around Hogsmeade. Ed watched him, stroking his chin thoughtfully. It certainly raised many questions, the most prominent of which being "why."

* * *

The group of Slytherins left for Hogsmeade in the early afternoon, seated uncomfortably in one carriage. They were, however, missing one Crabbe/Goyle, since Draco had pulled him aside after breakfast and told him something that made him stay behind. The other Crabbe/Goyle seemed saddened by this, though Ed couldn't tell whether it was because they had been separated or because Draco had issued him a job. They were both strange Malfoy worshippers anyway, though not to the same extent as Pansy was. 

Pansy, Crabbe/Goyle, and Zabini were all trying to carry a conversation between the rickety bumps and the occasional jabbing elbows. Draco was staring dully out one window while Ed practically hung his head out another. He suddenly wished he were smaller, which was a really depressing realization. He tried to keep himself distracted by watching the thestrals as they pulled the carriage down the beaten road. After all this time, Ed still wasn't sure what to make of the strange creatures. Every now and again Draco would cast a weird look in Ed's direction, not knowing what the small blonde was looking at.

As soon as they arrived in the town, the Slytherins took Ed straight to the Three Broomsticks, which was like some sort of cafe/bar for students. While everyone else got themselves a butterbeer to drink, Blaise excused himself for a few minutes and left the building. When he re-entered the Three Broomsticks some time later, he was slightly pink in the face and had something hidden underneath his cloak. He sat down with his fellow Slytherins and revealed his treasure to be a rather large bottle of firewhiskey that he had managed to get from the Hog's Head. It wasn't long before he was well on his way to being completely wasted, which wasn't a good idea since it was still early in the afternoon; much too early for anybody to be drunk.

In his drunken stupor, Zabini thought it would be fun to get Ed as drunk as him and spent a large amount of time trying to make him drink some of his firewhiskey. He failed, of course, as Ed kept pushing the glasses away or turning them upside down so the drink would pour harmlessly to the floor. Blaise scowled at him each time and tried again, which only made Ed and the others laugh out loud.

Ed was somewhat surprised to find that he was actually enjoying himself. In fact, everyone seemed to be having a good time... Everyone but Draco. His mind seemed to be completely preoccupied with something else. An absent smile was plastered across Draco's face and his silver eyes were looking in their general direction, but nothing they did or said really registered. Pansy jostled him a few times, pulling him closer and resting her head on his shoulder, but it barely seemed to matter. After a while, Draco stood from his seat and began to walk off.

"Drakey, where are you going?" Pansy called after him.

"Just to the loo," he answered casually. "Be right back."

Pansy smiled mischievously and got up, rushing over to him. She clasped one of his hands between hers, stopping him in his tracks. "I'll go with you," she said with a coy wink.

Draco frowned as he pulled his hand away and kept walking. "I'll be _fine_ on my own."

The brunette screwed up her pug-face as she watched him go, looking fairly annoyed that she was rejected again. She huffed back to the table and took a big sip of her butterbeer. Zabini grinned, slinging his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him.

"Aw, _hell_, Pans," he said loudly. "If it's a snog you're lookin' ta have, there's _plenty _o' good candidates right 'ere. Y'can 'ave that bloke over there, or that one... Or 'ow about snoggin' with me? Or little Elric, 'ere?"

At the mere suggestion, both Ed and Pansy turned bright red; Pansy in embarrassment and Ed in pure rage. He slammed his fists down on the table, making everyone's drinks hop into the air. Pansy, who had been looking like she was about to make a move on him, instantly withdrew in fear.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A BEAN?"

Zabini made an annoyed face. "Didn't say none o' that, mate..." He then turned to Pansy with a silly grin. "Awright, since Elric refuses... Pucker up, Pans!"

Pansy squealed and gave him a rough shove to the side. Zabini and Crabbe/Goyle laughed while Ed turned away, grumbling something about nasty pug-faced girls and sex-obsessed maniacs. He looked off in the direction of the bathroom, waiting for Draco to get back so Pansy could continue her freaky worship of him. As soon as the subject of snogging was dropped, they all went back to laughing at Zabini in his drunken state. However, this didn't last very long as he was starting to get very groggy.

Another twenty minutes passed and strangely enough, Draco had yet to return from his trip to the bathroom. Zabini was the first to notice. He narrowed his eyes at the bathroom door.

"Wassat wanker doin' in there?" he muttered. "Awful long time just to take a shit."

Pansy wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Don't say that!"

Crabbe/Goyle shrugged, grinning from ear to ear. "He's just saying the truth, Pansy."

"Maybe," Pansy snapped, "but that is positively revolting."

All the boys erupted into laughter again (except for Zabini because he was drifting in and out of consciousness), much to Pansy's annoyance. After a moment she glanced anxiously back towards the bathroom. She sneered at a girl with dirty-blonde hair who had just exited, but there was still no sign of Draco.

"What _is _taking him so long?" she whined. Pansy then turned to Ed, a pleading look on her face. "Can you go look for him, Eddy?"

Ed mentally rolled his eyes. _'Geez. I really _am _his damn babysitter.' _His opinion of the mission hadn't changed at all. "Fine. I'm going."

A relieved smile was on Pansy's face as he stood up and walked to the bathroom. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he glanced around the inside of it. It was rather small; there were only a few stalls and urinals available. There weren't any particularly disgusting smells hanging in the air, and the only thing that could be heard was water dripping in the sink. Which could only mean one thing: Draco had disappeared... again.

Clenching his hands into tight fists, Ed bolted out of the bathroom. He quickly searched the room for signs of Draco, cursing in his head all the while. Nothing. He ignored the confused look on Pansy's face and hurried outside into the snow, whirling around in place.

_'Shit,' _he thought angrily. _'Damn him! I can't keep chasing him around like this! We've only been here for a few hours... How long was he gone? Think, Ed, think! Where would he go?'_

He then spent the next half hour or so storming around Hogsmeade in the snow, searching for Draco and once again cursing his luck and his job. Ed decided that the first thing he would do once he went back to Amestris would be to pummel Roy into oblivion and quit his job as a state alchemist. Until then, he would settle with beating on Malfoy as a replacement. Ed couldn't stop himself from grinning evilly as he imagined his metal fist flying into Draco's face with a satisfying crunch. The image played over and over in his head as he fumed down the street, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

His malevolent thoughts kept him so distracted that he barely noticed the infamous Gryffindor trio walking several meters in front of him. They kept casting wary glances in Ed's direction, the evil grin on his face not going unnoticed. Ron seemed to be most frightened of all three of them, given the events of their last encounter. Harry and Hermione were just worried about the malicious aura that seemed to be radiating off of him.

"It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!"

The movie of Draco getting socked in the face was suddenly stopped short by the yelling. Ed turned slowly to see what had happened. Further down the street he could see two girls arguing, their voices so shrill and loud that everything they said hit his ears clearly. The argument seemed to center around a wrapped package that the dirty-blonde held in her hands. Ed's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he watched, not quite sure what to do.

He didn't get much time to think, either. One of the girls suddenly made to grab hold of the package in her friend's hand, but the dirty-blonde viciously tugged it back. Too viciously, it seemed, as it suddenly flew from both of their grasps and fell to the ground. And suddenly, all hell broke loose.

At once, the dirty-blonde girl rose gracefully into the air, her arms outstretched as though she was going to fly. Her hair was whipped around her expressionless face by the fierce wind, her eyes shut. Ed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all ran toward the two girls, gaping up at the girl who was floating almost six feet above the ground. Then suddenly, she let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open, but whatever it was that she could see or feel was causing her great anguish.

A lump formed in Ed's throat. It was a familiar sort of screaming. He had heard himself and Al screaming in the exact same way. It was the horrible noise that escaped their mouths when their bodies had been taken. He could suddenly see himself reaching for a boy who was just beyond his reach, being pulled into nothingness. The screaming alone was painful. The experience was infinitely worse. It was an excruciating pain that the girl floating above his head was feeling... for no reason at all.

Her friend began to scream as well, in desperation and fear, as she seized the girl by her ankles and tried to tug her back to the ground. Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushed forward to help her, but as soon as they grabbed her legs, she started to fall. Ed forced himself to move, jumping forward and catching her before she landed on anyone. He held her firmly with both arms, struggling slightly against her violent thrashing. Her eyes darted in every direction, a blank, anguished glaze in her eyes.

The others rushed over to Ed and the girl quickly and tried speaking to her. But she couldn't recognize any of them and continued to thrash and scream in Ed's arms. Ed looked up at all of them, his gold eyes flashing.

"WHAT THE _FUCK _JUST HAPPENED?" he shouted, confused and outraged by the events.

Ed didn't know who to blame for this, looking from one face to another, waiting for someone to answer him. The thrashing girl's friend looked too frightened to speak, her hands clasped over her mouth as she shook her head in disbelief. She could do little more than stare at her friend in horror as she screamed and writhed in Ed's arms.

"How should _we _know?" Ron snapped.

Harry wiped his glasses clear as he straightened and searched the landscape. "Stay there!" he shouted at them over the howling wind. "I'm going for help!"

He then took off in a sprint toward the school. Ed did his best to hold the girl down, finding it difficult to keep her still in spite of his strength and his sturdy auto-mail arm. He looked to Ron and Hermione for answers, since the only person who seemed to actually know anything about the incident was incapable of making herself coherent.

"What just happened?" he asked again, much calmer than before, though still angry.

"You were right there as well, weren't you?" retorted Hermione. "We only know just as much as you do, nothing more!"

"Yeah, but- whoa!"

Ed quickly moved his head out of the way of a particularly vicious slap from the thrashing girl. It seemed as though she was starting to break free of his hold on her. Hermione and Ron immediately rushed forward to help; Hermione cradled the girl's head and torso steady in her arms while Ron pinned her feet to the ground. Ed adjusted himself so that he was holding her wrists firmly in his hands. She seemed to howl even louder at the hard, cold touch of steel through his white gloves and thrashed even more, causing Ron to struggle with keeping her legs still. Her friend began to break down into sobs, sinking to the snow covered ground.

"Katie!" she wailed, tears streaming down her face. "I told you, but… And now you've…!"

"Get back!" came a deep, burly voice from down the lane. "Lemme see her!"

Everyone looked up to see a large man running toward them, Harry not far behind. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. His face was barely visible behind the long, wild tangles of his bushy black hair and beard, which was currently riddled with bits of snow and ice. He looked rather like an enormous bear the way he was dressed. As he came nearer Ed gaped at him; the man was practically a giant, and he really _did _feel like a bug around him.

"Something's happened to her!" sobbed the girl, finally becoming somewhat coherent. "I don't know what-"

The giant man stared at the girl named Katie as she writhed in Ed's grip for a brief moment. He then bent down and scooped her into his arms, nodding at Ed and the others to release her. They did as they were told and handed the girl over to him without a word. Then, making sure he had a good grip on her, the giant man carried her off toward the castle. Katie's friend broke down again, burying her face in her hands. Hermione hurried over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's Leanne, isn't it?" she said gently.

The girl nodded.

"Did it just happen all of a sudden, or...?"

"It was when that package tore," Leanne sobbed.

She pointed at the sodden brown-paper package on the ground and everyone turned to look at it. The package had split open to reveal a greenish glitter within. Ron was about to pick the object up, bending down with his hand outstretched, but Harry quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"_Don't touch it_!" he said, his voice firm with urgency.

Heeding Harry's warning, Ed crouched down near the package and poked the folds of brown paper out of the way with a twig. Lying in the middle of the torn, wet paper was an ornate opal necklace. He narrowed his eyes at it.

"What's this thing?"

"I've seen that before," said Harry, his green eyes wide as he stared at the necklace. "It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago."

The young alchemist raised an eyebrow, confused. "So?"

Harry slowly turned his shocked gaze on Ed, his voice lowering. "The label said it was cursed."

Ed's eyes went wide for a moment and he looked back at the thing. "Then that girl must have touched it."

"How did Katie get hold of this?" Harry asked, looking up at Leanne.

Leanne was shaking uncontrollably as she spoke. "Well, that's why we were arguing," she managed to say. "She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it..."

_'The bathroom in the Three Broomsticks...?'_ Ed's mind raced.

"Oh no," Leanne murmured to herself in shock, "oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realize."

She began to shake in renewed sobs and Hermione patted her shoulder gently. "She didn't say who'd given it to her, Leanne?"

"No... She wouldn't tell me... And I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and... and then I tried to grab it from her... and- and-"

Leanne let out a wail of despair, burying her face into her hands again. Ed rose to his feet, his gaze fixated on the necklace. She said she got it from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks... Now that he thought about it, Pansy had sneered at someone as they exited from the bathroom. Could that someone have been Katie? As for Draco...

"We'd better get up to school," said Hermione, her arm still wrapped around Leanne. "We'll be able to find out how she is. Come on..."

She helped Leanne to her feet and together they hurried toward the school. Ron made a start after the girls, but halted when he noticed that Harry and Ed seemed rooted to the spot. They were both staring at the necklace on the ground, identical stern looks on their faces. After a moment, Harry pulled off his scarf and carefully wrapped it around the opal necklace, ignoring Ron's gasp as he picked it up.

"We'll need to show this to Madam Pomfrey," he said, then hurried off after Hermione and Leanne, Ron just behind him.

Edward hesitated before following them back to the school. Some part of him was aware that he should have gone back to the other Slytherins for the sake of maintaining his cover. But the rest of him didn't care. A girl had almost died.

And he was pretty sure he knew who was behind it.

* * *

**Author's Note:** this was an unusually dark chapter... you know how Ed gets when his nightmares come back to haunt him… but oh well. i love angsty Ed just as much as i love goofy Ed. XD  
about the inscription in his pocket watch - i'm trying to be more canon with the manga than with the anime (save for the poker stuff :p), which is why it's dated 3.Oct._11_ rather than 10. 


	10. Tricks, Lies, and Accusations

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. It would _so _rock if I did, but I don't. That's life. It's unfair to us all.

**Author's Note: **glad to see that people enjoyed the angst of chapter 9. XD the story just wouldn't have been complete without at least one angsting session! but i believe that the story does get more serious from here on out..._(reviews upcoming events in her head) _hmm... yes, just a bit more serious.so hang in there!

about having long segments taken from the book... well... i just feel like since the story is pretty in canon with HBP so far, there are things that i shouldn't change. i try to tweak the actions and descriptions to fit Ed's POV when applicable, but i feel like i can't touch the dialogue (for the most part)'cause it might throw them out of character and/or context. so... sorry if that's boring or whatever. _and also_, that's part of the reason why this story is under the FMA category, and not under Harry Potter.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 10  
**Tricks, Lies, and Accusations**

A long, detailed report was being written in Ed's head as he followed Harry and the others back to Hogwarts. There was suddenly a lot that headquarters needed to know. There was no doubt in Ed's mind that Draco Malfoy was somehow involved in what happened to the Katie Bell girl. The only problem was that he had no evidence and no way to support his claim. And no one in the wizarding world would back him up. After all, in spite of everything that had happened, the Malfoy family was still one of the most powerful and influential wizarding families around. Accusing Draco of doing something like this was serious. Ed had to be absolutely sure before he did anything. It seemed like a talk with the headmaster himself was in order.

"Malfoy knows about this necklace," Ed heard Harry say suddenly as they reached the school grounds. He looked up in interest, his gold eyes wide. "It was in a case at Borgin and Burkes four years ago, I saw him having a good look at it while I was hiding from him and his dad." Harry suddenly cast a worried glance at Ed and lowered his voice slightly, leaning closer to Ron. But Ed could still hear him. "_This _is what he was buying that day when we followed him! He remembered it and he went back for it!"

"I-I dunno, Harry," said Ron hesitantly. "Loads of people go to Borgin and Burkes... and didn't that girl say Katie got it in the girls' bathroom?"

Ed had to stop himself from answering Ron's question in Harry's place. Even though he had decided not to rejoin the other Slytherins, he couldn't completely blow his cover. Conspiring against Malfoy with Harry and his friends probably wouldn't help.

"She said she came back from the bathroom with it," Harry insisted, "she didn't necessarily get it in the bathroom itself..."

"McGonagall!" Ron said warningly.

Everyone halted in their step and Ed and Harry looked up to see Professor McGonagall hurrying down the stone steps through swirling sleet to meet them. She looked first at Hermione and Leanne, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, then at the three boys tailing after them.

"Hagrid says you all saw what happened to Katie Bell - upstairs to my office at once, please!"

The trio glanced back at Ed as though he wasn't supposed to be there. He shot them an annoyed look, feeling rather offended. Hadn't he helped hold Katie down? Hadn't he caught her in mid-air? Professor McGonagall didn't notice and motioned to Harry's balled up scarf.

"What's that thing you're holding, Potter?"

"It's the thing she touched," said Harry.

"Good lord," McGonagall breathed, looking alarmed as she carefully took it from Harry. A gangly, creepy looking man suddenly came shuffling across the entrance hall, a sensor of some sort in his hand. "No, no, Filch, they're with me!" she told him hastily as she handed the bundle over to him. "Take this necklace to Professor Snape at once, but be sure not to touch it, keep it wrapped in the scarf!"

Then everyone followed Professor McGonagall upstairs and into her office. She shut the door as soon as everyone was inside and swept around her desk to face the students, a stern look on her face.

"Well?" she said sharply. "What happened?"

Leanne launched into her story, though it seemed as though she were forcing every word past her choking sobs. She told McGonagall as much as she could, from Katie's trip to the bathroom to the tussle over the parcel. Before she could go into what happened next, Leanne broke down again. There was no getting another word out of her.

"All right," the professor said, not unkindly, "go up to the hospital wing, please, Leanne, and get Madam Pomfrey to give you something for shock."

The sobbing girl nodded her head sadly and made her way out of the room. Once she had gone, Professor McGonagall turned back to the students who were still standing before her.

"What happened when Katie touched the necklace?"

"She rose up into the air, ma'am," Ed said firmly. "Then she started to scream and collapsed."

He shuddered slightly when he remembered her screaming, but tried not to let it show. The others looked at Ed for a moment, all of them surprised that he had spoken so evenly and quickly. Harry shook his head slowly and turned back to the professor.

"Professor, can I see Professor Dumbledore, please?"

McGonagall looked surprised. "The headmaster is away until Monday, Potter."

"Away?" both Harry and Ed echoed angrily.

"Yes, away!" said Professor McGonagall tartly, her eyes darting between Ed and Harry. "But anything you have to say about this horrible business can be said to me, I'm sure!"

Ed looked away, clenching his teeth. What he had to say was of no concern to Professor McGonagall. He had to speak to Dumbledore. No one else. He was on a mission and had his orders, and as much as he hated his job, he had to pull through. There was clearly a lot at stake here. He glanced at Harry, who seemed to be carefully weighing his options. At length Harry raised his eyes slightly, chewing his lip and throwing a nervous glance in Ed's direction.

"I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor."

Ron rubbed his nose in apparent embarrassment and Hermione shuffled her feet, ready to put a bit of distance between herself and Harry. They both looked over at Ed, obviously expecting some kind of reaction to hear a friend being seriously accused, but were surprised to find his face expressionless. They couldn't tell that Ed felt the exact same way as Harry. A small part of him was surprised that Harry had chosen to confide in McGonagall with something so serious, but it didn't show.

"That is a very serious accusation, Potter," McGonagall said after a shocked pause. "Do you have any proof?"

Proof. That was what Ed lacked. That was why he remained silent. He knew how these investigations went, having at least been witness to several during his time in the military.

"No, but..." Harry hesitated for a moment, glancing at his friends. "Well, before term started, we saw Malfoy at Borgin and Burkes and overheard a conversation he had with Mr. Borgin, asking him to repair something. Mr. Borgin refused, but Malfoy showed him... well, we don't know _what_, exactly, but it scared Mr. Borgin into agreeing. He didn't want anyone else to know about it, either. Whatever Malfoy was planning, it must have had something to do with that necklace. I saw it on sale there before, that must be where he got it from."

When Harry finished, Professor McGonagall looked slightly confused. On the other hand, Ed looked to be deep in thought. He suddenly wished that he and Mustang had left earlier. This obviously needed deeper investigation. It was now glaringly obvious that the Malfoy family had been suspicious for years. Why hadn't anything been done about this situation sooner?

"Malfoy took something to Borgin and Burkes for repair?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Professor, he just wanted Borgin to tell him how to mend something, he didn't have it with him. But that's not the point, the thing is that he bought something at the same time, and I think it was that necklace-"

"You saw Malfoy leaving the shop with a similar package?"

"No, Professor, he told Borgin to keep it in the shop for him-"

"But Harry," Hermione interrupted, "Borgin asked him if he wanted to take it with him, and Malfoy said no..."

"Because he didn't want to touch it, obviously!" Harry yelled angrily, turning on his friend.

"What he actually said was, 'How would I look carrying that down the street?'"

"Well, he would look a bit of a prat carrying a necklace," interjected Ron.

Ed stifled a laugh as a peculiar mental image of Draco Malfoy wearing the opal necklace around his neck crossed his mind.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said despairingly, "it would be all wrapped up, so he wouldn't have to touch it, and quite easy to hide inside a cloak, so nobody would see it! I think whatever he reserved at Borgin and Burkes was noisy or bulky, something he knew would draw attention to him if he carried it down the street..."

Harry looked like he had something to say, but Hermione stopped him quickly, raising her voice another notch.

"And in any case, I asked Borgin about the necklace, don't you remember? When I went in to try and find out what Malfoy had asked him to keep, I saw it there. And Borgin just told me the price, he didn't say it was already sold or anything-"

"Well, you were being really obvious," Harry argued. "He realized what you were up to within about five seconds, of course he wasn't going to tell you. Anyway, Malfoy could've sent off for it since-"

"That's enough!" McGonagall said sharply, her voice stopping the argument at once.

Hermione, looking furious as she was about to respond, consented to shut her mouth. Ed had found the fight to be rather funny, even though he was completely lost in their arguments. It was a strange sort of fun, just watching Harry and Hermione's faces grow increasingly red in frustration. Ron, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. McGonagall wasn't amused either, throwing both students sharp looks that demanded complete and total compliance.

"Potter," she addressed the dark-haired teen, "I appreciate you telling me this, but we cannot point the finger of blame at Mr. Malfoy purely because he visited the shop where this necklace might have been purchased. The same is probably true of hundreds of people..."

"That's what I said," Ron muttered softly under his breath. Ed grinned, turning away slightly so that no one would notice.

"And in any case, we have put stringent security measures in place this year. I do not believe that necklace can possibly have entered this school without our knowledge..."

Harry stepped forward aggressively. "But...!"

"And what is _more_," the professor said in a loud voice, with an air of awful finality, "Mr. Malfoy was not in Hogsmeade today."

Ed's eyes went wide and he quickly turned back to face Professor McGonagall. "What? But that's impossible! He was-"

"How do you know, Professor?" Harry ventured, looking deflated.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Ed before answering Harry's question. "Because he was doing detention with me. He had now failed to complete his Transfiguration homework twice in a row."

Now Edward was completely confused. There was no way that Draco could be in two places at once. He had gone with them to Hogsmeade! Pansy had been fawning all over him the entire time! Until he disappeared anyway. They had barely been there for two hours before he...

His amber-gold eyes flashed dangerously. _'That bastard.'_

"So," McGonagall went on, marching past all of the students toward the door, "thank you for telling me your suspicions, Potter, but I need to go up to the hospital wing now to check on Katie Bell. Good day to you all."

She then held open her office door and waited for them to file past her. Ed didn't even wait for the door to be all the way open. He spun around on his heel and fumed down the corridors, heading straight for the Slytherin common room. When he found Draco Malfoy, he would kill him. That would end things quickly enough. No more chasing after him and his disappearing acts. He'd be six feet under, and that would be final. Yes. Ed would kill him.

He growled the password to the blank stone wall and stormed through the revealed entrance. Lying stretched out on the couch with his head propped up by his arms was Draco, looking like he was enjoying a comfortable nap near the fire. Ed stomped over and loomed over him for a while. He wanted nothing more than to kill him, but he had suddenly realized that he couldn't because of the mission. He fought with himself, itching to punch him right in the nose while he lay wide open. If he did, he would be compromising the mission. Edward was supposed to be on Draco's good side. And he didn't even have any proof that Draco had done something... ButEd couldn't just overlook this! He clenched his auto-mail hand into a fist.

"What do you want?" Draco drawled without opening his eyes.

"That was some bathroom break, huh?" he growled after a moment's hesitation.

Draco opened one eye lazily. "What are you on about?"

Ed gritted his teeth, trying very hard to control himself. "Where were you? Pansy was on my back again, telling me to find you."

"Really?" He yawned ostentatiously. "That's nice."

The alchemist barely managed to keep himself from exploding. "_Where did you go_?"

There was a brief silence for a moment as Draco turned to stare into the fire. "Here," he said at length. "I had a little date with McGonagall."

"Romantic," Ed snorted. _'Damned alibi.'_

He looked around, searching the area for any opened bottles or flasks. Ed was well aware that the Crabbe/Goyle that stayed behind had used a Polyjuice Potion to stand in for Draco for the first two hours of his detention with McGonagall. There had been something in Hogsmeade that Draco needed to handle himself, and had to get away somehow. That had to be it. But Ed needed some kind of proof that a Polyjuice Potion had indeed been used.

"There something else you want from me, Elric?" Draco snapped.

Smart as he was, calm interrogation had never been one of Ed's stronger points. If he didn't want to blow his mission, he was going to have to leave the matter alone.

"No. Nothing."

"Then back off."

Gritting his teeth, Ed slowly moved away and flopped himself down on the opposite couch with a soft grunt. Damn Malfoy. Damn military. He then stared into the flames, once again going over in his mind what was going into his next report.

* * *

Hogwarts erupted into buzzing talk over the next few days. Rumors about what happened to Katie were flying all across the school. However, the details of the event were confused. No one knew that the package had been given to Katie to be delivered to someone else. Ed decided that this was a good thing; it would only cause mass hysteria if the students knew that somebody among them was being targeted. The only people in Hogwarts who knew were the ones who had been there at the time: Ed, Leanne, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. 

And Malfoy. Ed was still thoroughly convinced that he had done something and had been indirectly questioning him about it the whole time. He had yet to get anything out of him, which was very frustrating. The white-blonde insisted that he knew nothing about what had happened to Katie Bell and had absolutely nothing to hide. The other Slytherins seemed to notice the renewed tension in the air, but had yet to address it. They just knew that it had something to do with Hogsmeade, an afternoon that Zabini and one Crabbe/Goylewere finding difficulty remembering.

Since he couldn't get anything about Katie Bell out of Draco, Ed was going to have to move on. As much as he wished it was, investigating what had happened to her wasn't part of his mission. He would focus on completing his spy work on Draco. Besides, he was bound to let something slip sooner or later. For now, Ed just had to settle with information gathering, which he was going to have to do indirectly. He had to get it from someone else. Now the question was who to ask...

Potions class was over now that Slughorn was finished praising Harry's latest accomplishment. Draco scowled in Harry's direction as he gathered up his things in preparation to leave. The Slytherins looked altogether too happy to leave, especially Zabini. But before anyone could manage to slip out the door, Professor Slughorn's voice boomed from the front of the class.

"Oh, almost forgot, almost forgot. Mr. Potter, Mr. Zabini, Mr. Elric, and Miss Granger. Might I ask you four to remain after class? I'd like to have a word with you all."

Zabini and Ed froze in their tracks and slowly turned to look incredulously at the Potions Master. The professor just smiled warmly.

"Bloody hell, what _now_?" Zabini groaned. "Another invitation? D'you know this makes four times since the start of term?"

"Sick of parties, are we?" Draco snickered, though the envy in his eyes made it clear that he wasn't amused at all. He then turned his subtle anger on Ed. "Well, I know what he wants with Zabini, but _Elric _as well? The old coot's _obviously _gone senile."

Both boys shot Malfoy a mean look, at which he feigned offense. Pansy just smiled as she once again attached herself to Draco's arm and began to pull him away.

"You boys go on," she told them. "I'll take care of Drakey here."

"I don't _need _any 'taking care of,' Pans," Draco snapped.

"Oh, don't say that, Drakey," Pansy cooed, still smiling.

Malfoy looked thoroughly annoyed as Pansy dragged him out of the dungeon. Ed grumbled something about spoiled brats angrily under his breath as both he and Zabini made their way toward Slughorn. Harry and Hermione seemed to be arguing about something quietly as they approached the professor, but stopped as soon as everyone was gathered. Slughorn beamed proudly at the four students before him.

"Well, now!" he said jovially. "I finally have the chance to speak with all _four _of you. Harry, Mr. Elric, I do believe you lads have been avoiding my invitations. That makes three of my little gatherings that you've missed already."

Harry shifted his weight anxiously. "Well sir, as I told you before, I've had Quidditch practices. I'm very sorry."

Edward blinked in confusion. Avoiding his invitations? "I only received _one_ invitation from you, sir."

Professor Slughorn turned to Ed. "That would be because I never got the chance to properly invite you to the others, m'boy, you always seem to be in such a hurry. I'm lucky to have caught you this time."

The blonde tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. Now that he mentioned it, Ed had been spending most of his time either following Draco around or at the owlery, so he never really had a moment free. There had been a few times that he thought he heard Slughorn call after him as they left the dungeons, but he didn't pay it any mind. Either way, it didn't matter. Slughorn's parties only diverted from his mission, since Draco wasn't invited to them.

"At any rate, I have another invitation for all of you," Slughorn continued, still beaming, "just giving you advanced notice on the matter so you can plan your schedules accordingly." Harry suddenly looked rather disheartened. "I'll be having a Christmas party on the 20th of December, right before winter break. It'll be up in my rooms, a good old fashioned Christmas party, what do you say?"

Zabini, Ed, and Harry's faces fell slightly. They all opened their mouths as they searched their minds frantically for good excuses. On the other hand, Hermione looked genuinely interested and nodded in response. Apparently, Slughorn took Hermione's response to be the consensus of the group and his merry smile grew even more jovial.

"Excellent, excellent!" he exclaimed, ignoring the horrified looks on the boys' faces. "Then I can expect to see _all four of you _there, correct? Oh, you may bring guests with you if you like, or dates, as you may call them."

"_Dates_?" all four students echoed incredulously. Hermione obviously hadn't been banking on hearing that, as her face turned bright red.

"Yes, dates!" Slughorn said again, growing happier with every passing moment. "Well, I best be sending you on your way, then. I'll see you all next class!"

And on that note, the professor gathered his things and hurried off to his office, clearly pleased with himself. As soon as he was out of sight, Zabini smacked his forehead. An intense look graced Harry's face as though he were contemplating something of serious consequence to his well being. Ed quickly stuffed his hands into his pockets and glared at a spot on the ground.

_'I can't go to a party. I've got investigating to do!'_

"I can't believe this!" Zabini groaned.

"Well, _I _think it's rather intriguing," Hermione said evenly, though the blush still hadn't left her face. Her eyes then took on a dreamy glaze. "A date to a Christmas party... I wonder who I should go with?"

"Excited, are you?" Blaise sneered. "I suppose you would be. After all, how often does someone ask _you _out to parties, Granger? Wasn't Krum the one and only?"

Hermione looked furious, clenching her things tightly in her hands. The tall Slytherin turned away snobbishly, pleased that his point came across. Ed narrowed his eyes.

"Leave her alone, Zabini," he said icily. "I haven't seen _you _going out on any dates lately."

Both Gryffindors were taken aback that Edward had stood up for her. Hermione looked over at Harry as though waiting for an explanation, but the dark-haired teen just smiled slightly. Zabini smirked and shrugged his shoulders, starting for the door.

"Whatever. We'd better go find the others and meet up with Malfoy, anyway. We've wasted enough time here."

Ed shrugged as well and began to follow him slowly out of the dungeon. Once Zabini had walked through the door, Harry reached out and tapped Ed's shoulder lightly. He turned around, a quizzical expression on his young face.

"I don't understand why you're friends with them, Ed," Harry said quietly.

The alchemist just laughed softly. "Why's that?"

"Don't you know anything about Malfoy and his flunkies?" Hermione asked, sounding very much like a mother scolding her child.

"What are you, the authority on Draco Malfoy?" Ed joked. "What do you guys know about him?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "In the six years that we've known him?"

"More than we care to," Harry muttered mysteriously.

Ed raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, pursing her lips together in agitation as she jabbed Harry in the ribs. The dark-haired wizard winced as Hermione moved past them and began to walk out of the dungeon.

"Hermione, what-"

"Come on, Harry," she called. "Ron's waiting for us. He's not going to be happy to hear about Slughorn and his party."

Harry hesitantly followed his best friend out of the dungeon, flashing Ed an apologetic smile. Meanwhile, Ed's mind was racing. So Harry and his friends had known Draco for six years. That was six more than Ed did. And he was going to need all the information he could get on Malfoy if he wanted to get anywhere with his duties. It was always better to get first hand accounts rather than rely on reports. After all, according to the reports Ed had read, Draco was listed as a good student, a true leader, and a role model for other Slytherins. In the past month and a half that Ed had known him, Draco didn't quite act the way he was described.

He spun around on his heel and hurried out the door. Zabini was just about to poke his head back into the room when Ed emerged quickly. His gold eyes darted up and down the corridor wildly, searching for where the Gryffindors had gone.

"Hermione!"

The two Gryffindors stopped walking immediately and turned around to face Ed, clearly confused. Zabini was equally confused, raising an eyebrow.

"Elric, what're you doing?"

The blonde drew in a deep breath and walked purposefully toward Harry and Hermione, a determined look on his face. The brunette looked slightly worried, glancing over at Harry for help. Harry could only shrug his shoulders in response. Hermione bit down on her lip as Ed came to a stop a few feet away from them.

"Hermione."

"Um... yes?"

Ed's voice caught in his throat. He lowered his gaze to the floor and a faint blush came to his cheeks. He'd never done this before and wasn't entirely sure about how it was supposed to happen. But he knew he had to do this.

"Yes?" Hermione was getting impatient.

"Umm... Would... Would you, uh... go to... y'know... to Slughorn's party... with me?"

A deathly silence reigned over everyone in the corridor. Everyone froze, their eyes wide in a blend of horror and disbelief. Harry and Zabini were completely dumbstruck, neither of them quite sure how to react. Hermione looked as though her heart had leapt into her throat and she was having a hard time swallowing it back down. Ed didn't dare raise his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

_'Winry's gonna kill me.'_

* * *

**Author's Note: **not just Winry, Edward! there's an entire flock of angry fan girls standing off to the side, and _i've got first dibs_!

AAAGH! JEALOUSY! JEALOUSY! GRR HERMIONE GRR! _(slaps Hermione several times)_ AND WHY IS HE THINKING ABOUT WINRY! _(sharpens fan girl spear)_

why did i make that happen? WHY? _(sob sob) _i just don't know... i shouldn't have... _(sob)_


	11. Missing Quidditch

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**_**  
by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa _or _J.K. Rowling overnight.

**Author's Note:** this took me a while to finish... wasn't really sure how to jump from point A to point B, but it's done at last! yay!

thanks for all the reviews! chapter 10 is apparently very popular... curse Hermione and her incredibly good luck with guys. I'm just jealous. grr. why can't I live in that fictionalworld with all the extremely good looking guys? hmm... must find away to pass through the gate... XD

uh-oh. I have incited the unruly crowd of anti-fangirl organizations. OO;; waah! don't hurt me! otherwise you'll never know what happens next! _(hides under desk clutching laptop for dear life)_ I'm sorry for being a fangirl! But I can't help it! Ed's just so... _(drool) _um... uh-oh._(cowers under desk again)_

* * *

**Chapter 11**  
**Missing Quidditch  
**

"I can't believe you asked Mudblood Granger to Slughorn's party!" Zabini raved as they approached the Slytherin common room, still in shock.

"Would you shut up already?" Ed growled. Zabini hadn't stopped talking since they parted ways with Harry and Hermione and he was really starting to get on Ed's nerves. "So what if I asked her? I don't see what the big deal is."

They paused for a moment to say the password and pass through the newly opened doorway. Malfoy and the others were already inside, lounging casually on the couches by the fire place. Everyone looked up at the two Slytherins as they entered, but Zabini's insistent ravings stopped them from saying a word to them.

"But she _agreed_, Elric!" Zabini went on. "It's a _very _big deal!"

Ed gave a toothy grin. "Don't tell me you're jealous that _I _may have a date and _you don't_."

That comment shut Zabini up nicely. Ed's grin grew mischievous as the tall Slytherin finally closed his mouth and turned away with a snort. He grumbled something under his breath in annoyance.

"Eddy has a date?" Pansy squealed indignantly. "A date to _what_?"

"To Slughorn's party," Zabini muttered, turning back to the others.

Draco just snorted, leaning back into the couch and turning away snobbishly. "That right? Who's he taking?"

"You'll never believe it," Zabini said, a wild look in his eyes, "but he asked _Granger_!"

Suddenly everyone's jaws dropped. Pansy seemed perfectly horrified by the idea while Crabbe and Goyle both froze in shock, just the way Zabini had. Malfoy turned back to look at Edward, a hateful look burning in his silver eyes.

"GRANGER?" he echoed angrily. "Why'd you ask _Granger _of all people?"

The young alchemist smiled innocently and casually shrugged his shoulders, which only served to upset the Slytherins further.

"I dunno," he said airily. "I just... asked."

Everyone began to talk at once, so quickly that the words stumbled over one another. A part of Ed was enjoying the chaos he had created. The only reason he asked Hermione was to get some background information on Draco. It was a purely platonic interest. This was all military research for the sake of Ed's mission. There was nothing sweet or romantic about the situation.

_'Then again, Hermione _is _really pretty...'_

All of a sudden, Ed's cheeks flushed slightly and he turned away, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It's not a big deal, okay? So I'm going with Hermione to Slughorn's party, whoop-dee-flippin'-doo."

"You're calling her by _name_?" said Pansy, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Um... yeah. So?"

The pug-faced Slytherin turned away, raising her chin snobbishly in the air. Ed just rolled his eyes. The whole house rivalry thing was getting old. Draco continued to glare daggers at the small alchemist, steam practically blowing out of his ears. Zabini noticed this and snickered.

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Do I detect a hint of jealousy?"

Draco growled. "Jealous of what? Elric having a date with that filthy Mudblood? Not on your life, you wanker."

A tiny smile was on Zabini's face. "Mudblood or what, Granger _is _a bit of a looker, eh?"

Angrier than ever, Draco shot another hateful glare at Ed. Ed just stuck his hands into his pockets, smiling back at him innocently.

"I thought you said you'd never touch a blood traitor!" Pansy shrieked at Blaise objectively, jumping to her feet.

"I didn't say anything about touching her," Zabini shot back. "It doesn't hurt to look, though. It's awful hard to find purebloods that attractive."

He gave Pansy a meaningful look and her face instantly twisted with rage, which made Blaise grin. He glanced at Draco, who was now glaring into the fireplace, and his grin grew wider. Ed tried very hard to suppress his laughter as he watched Pansy's face turn from red to a dark shade of purple. She eventually thrust her chin into the air with a loud "hmph" and started for the door.

"I'm hungry!" she announced as though somebody cared. "Let's go to dinner, Drakey!"

Malfoy rolled his eyes slowly so that he could see Pansy out of the corner of his eye. He didn't seem particularly pleased with the idea of joining _anyone_ for dinner, but still got to his feet and followed Pansy out of the room. He shouldered Ed roughly as he passed. Normally Ed would have fought back somehow, but this time he just grinned. Crabbe and Goyle, though still shocked into silence, scrambled to their feet to catch up to their leader.

Zabini elbowed Ed gently, a playful, teasing grin on his face. "This is gonna be fun."

He then hurried to catch up, calling after Pansy and Draco. Edward was the last to leave the common room. His grin grew as he stroked his chin thoughtfully, a scheming glimmer in his gold eyes.

_'Bingo.'_

* * *

Thanks to Zabini and Pansy's very loud discussion of Ed's date to Slughorn's party over dinner, the news had reached every corner of the castle by the next morning. It seemed as though everyone in school was talking about it. In fact, the second Ed stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast, a cold shiver ran up and down his spine. Everyone had paused for a moment to look at him, and Ed could practically feel the enraged, jealous glares from several other boys around the room on his skin. Hermione casually brushed off everyone's comments to her, though it seemed that Ron was giving her the hardest time out of anyone. Ed chose to ignore anyone that bothered him about it. 

Other than the buzzing rumors that began flying around, the rest of the month passed smoothly. Draco's Quidditch practices became more and more frequent, since they had an upcoming game against Gryffindor. Ed wasn't particularly keen on watching the Slytherin team's practice sessions, so he took advantage of those times to send his reports and his letters to Al. Alphonse was shocked to hear about Ed asking Hermione out on a date and made it a point to somehow tease him about it in every one of his letters. And, surprisingly enough, Ed had also received a letter from Hawkeye asking if Mustang was with him in Hogwarts. Which was weird, since Edward thought the colonel was with her back in East City.

It was suddenly the morning of the Quidditch game with Gryffindor. However, Draco didn't seem to be particularly enthusiastic about it. The other Slytherins were the excited ones, going on and on about how they would definitely win against the Gryffindors this year.

"So this year for sure, right?" Crabbe/Goyle said for the millionth time, stuffing a spoonful of muesli into his mouth.

"Yeah," Zabini told him with an evil grin. "Potty and his losers are going down."

Ed rolled his eyes as he swallowed his food. From what he had heard, the Slytherin team hadn't been able to win a Quidditch game against Gryffindor ever since Harry signed on.

"Geez, you guys are like broken records," he said. "I'm gonna laugh if you guys lose. The odds are completely against you."

The other Slytherins simultaneously shot Ed a mean glare, sending a sudden chill up and down his spine.

"You realize that a loss for us is a loss for _you_ too, Edward," Pansy told him icily, not using his annoying nickname for once.

Crabbe/Goyle cracked his knuckles in a vaguely threatening manner. Ed just rolled his eyes again, not daunted in the slightest, and turned his attention back to the mountains of food on his plate.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered, stuffing several slices of bacon into his mouth._ 'I never pledged myself to this damn house.'_

Before anyone could say anything more, Draco quickly rose to his feet, drawing everyone's attention back to him. The others all looked at him expectantly as though he were supposed to deliver some sort of inspirational speech , but he merely looked coolly at each one of them in turn. He glared slightly at Ed, and Ed noticed for the first time how exhausted Draco looked. There were dark bags growing under his eyes and his skin tone seemed a shade paler than usual. Ed's eyebrows came together.

_'What's wrong with him?' _he wondered.

"I'm off to prepare for the game," Draco told them, moving to leave.

"Okay!" Pansy chirped, back to being excited. "Good luck!"

"Crush 'em, Malfoy!" said Crabbe and Goyle in unison.

"Wait a second," Ed said sternly, grabbing Draco by the wrist to stop him. "You don't look too good. Maybe you shouldn't play."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and wrenched his arm away, looking as though he had never been more insulted in his life. "What are you, my mother?" he barked. "I'm _fine_. Just leave me alone."

"Yeah," Zabini said. "Besides, Malfoy's our seeker! He can't just sit the game out. Am I right or am I right?"

As Zabini turned to look at the other Slytherins at the table within earshot, each one of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"You can't just have one person for that position," Ed argued. "It's not logical. There _has _to be a back up player in case someone can't make it. That's why it's a _team_."

But his argument was ignored as everyone told Draco to go ahead, wishing him luck just as Pansy had. Malfoy glared at Ed again before briskly marching out of the Great Hall. Unable to do anything else, Ed just watched him leave, his gold eyes narrowed.

Many other students began to prepare to leave as well, chattering eagerly amongst themselves about the game as they did so. Ed and the others stayed at the table for a little while longer as they hadn't finished their food just yet. Zabini and Pansy seemed very keen on getting to the Quidditch pitch as quickly as possible and finding good seats. They were, in fact, so eager that the instant their plates were clean, Pansy and Zabini practically pushed Ed, Crabbe, and Goyle out of the Great Hall and off toward the field.

Ed was pulled into a seat with Draco's friends at the top of a high tower, overlooking a large, oval-shaped stadium of some sort. There were three hoops on both ends of the field that towered high in the air, looking very much like giant soap bubble wands. The entire field was surrounded by huge towers for the spectators, one of which Ed was sitting in at that very moment. Half of the towers were filled with people dressed in silver and green and were decorated with green banners bearing the Slytherin crest. Not surprisingly, the other half was decorated in red and gold, the Gryffindor crest emblazoned boldly on their banners. Everyone was getting increasingly excited for the game, anxiously peering down at the field every now and then.

He surveyed his surroundings, looking at everyone's faces. Ed wasn't sure he liked this sport. From what he had read and heard about Quidditch, it definitely wasn't scientifically sound. Flying around on brooms? Of all the things that he heard about magic, flying around on broomsticks struck him as the most ridiculous. It completely ignored the principle of equivalent exchange and was the greatest stereotype of all time. Needless to say, it bothered him, just like most everything else Ed had learned about magic. The other Slytherins assured him that he would probably enjoy it once he actually got to watch a game, but he still wasn't convinced.

"Is there gonna be a game or not?" he muttered, folding his arms indignantly over his chest. He glared at the empty field below. "I'm getting bored, here."

Zabini laughed, slapping Ed's back. "You're as impatient as Malfoy!"

Ed could feel his eye twitch. _'No I'm not!' _he wanted to yell. _'I'm nothing like that elitist bastard!'_

"The match should be starting soon," Pansy assured Ed with a nod.

Then, as though on Pansy's cue, a gate opened on both sides of the pitch. Everyone began to cheer wildly as two teams of students strode out, brooms in hand. Zabini, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle all leapt to their feet at once, yelling and whooping for their green and silver clad representatives. Ed eyed each member of the two teams, sizing them up. He frowned slightly. He didn't see Draco out among the Slytherins.

"Hey, what happened to Drakey?" Pansy squealed, also noticing his absence.

"He must have taken my advice," Ed said after a moment. "I'll go see how he's doing."

As he slowly wormed his way out from amongst the row of cheering Slytherins, Pansy seized Ed's jacket sleeve and stopped him. "I'll go with you."

"No need," Ed told her, waving one hand dismissively. "Just one person should be enough. Besides, he's probably in the changing room and I don't think you'd be allowed in there."

Pansy stuck out her lower lip in a pout before giving in and returning to her seat. As the Quidditch match began, Ed exited the stands and made his way to the changing room. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked, wondering whether or not to take his time with the little trip. He wasn't exactly eager to rejoin Draco's cronies to watch a sport that he didn't understand very well. On the other hand, he had to be sure of the Malfoy heir's whereabouts at all times, so hurrying was probably a good idea.

He entered the changing room and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone inside. Ed raised an eyebrow in confusion and hesitantly took a step forward.

"Draco, you in here?"

No answer. Ed moved further into the room, looking around him in all directions. He peered into several of the open lockers, wondering which one of them was Malfoy's.

"Hey, Malfoy! Where'd ya go?"

Still no answer. The young alchemist folded his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed slightly in confusion. He then moved toward the exit, throwing one last glance back at the changing room. Ed then shrugged his shoulders and left, this time heading for the Slytherin dorms. Draco had probably gone back to catch up on the sleep that he seemed to be missing out on. This was also very strange, since Draco seemed to always get enough sleep...

When Ed entered the common room, he found that it was completely abandoned. Apparently, everyone had gone to watch the Quidditch match. The same could be said for most of Hogwarts; the corridors and courtyards were relatively empty. Ed made his way to their dorm, knocking on the door before allowing himself in.

Ed blinked, confused. Draco wasn't here either. His eyes darted around the room, checking to see if Draco _had _been there. But there was no sign of him either way. With a resigned sigh, Ed turned on his heel and started to leave.

_'That leaves the infirmary,'_ he thought.

The hospital wing was one place that Ed had yet to really acquaint himself with. He knew where it was thanks to a quick tour that Draco and Pansy had taken him on, but he preferred to stay away from it at all costs because of his auto-mail. He took a deep breath as he reached the entrance, hoped not to get caught by whoever was in charge for a sudden check up, and then walked in.

It was a large, simple room with beds lined up on the opposite walls. There were a few curtains around the beds at the far end of the wing which were probably only used in case of an emergency. Close to the entrance was a small office, which must have been the head nurse's. As Ed looked around the room, it was clear that Draco hadn't confined himself here, either.

"Can I help you, young man?" came a stern voice.

A middle aged woman who had to be the head nurse bustled out of her office, wiping her hands dry on her apron. She was looking Ed over as though searching for any sign of injury or sickness. Ed just smiled nervously in her direction and slowly inched out the door.

"Just looking for someone," he said quickly, turning around to leave. "But thanks."

The nurse nodded and slowly turned back to reenter her office. Just then, Ed stopped in his tracks as a thought occurred to him and looked back at the nurse, a serious expression on his face.

"Actually, maybe you _can _help me," he called, drawing her attention. "Has Draco Malfoy been in here today?"

"Draco Malfoy?" the head nurse echoed, giving Ed an odd look. "No, he hasn't."

"Damn it," Ed cursed softly. Then, in a louder voice he added, "Thanks again."

He then hurried out of the infirmary and quickly made his way back to the Quidditch pitch. He decided to check one more time, but somewhere deep down Ed knew that Draco had pulled a fast one on him again. As he approached the stadium, people were filtering out and heading back to the school. All of the Gryffindor students were cheering happily, practically dancing as they walked. The Slytherin students scowled at them, muttering angrily under their breath. A small grin appeared on Ed's face. He should have bet money on their loss.

Ed weaved his way through the slowly thickening crowd and headed for the Slytherin team's changing room. Inside, several team members seemed to be throwing angry fits while others simply looked disheartened, having resigned themselves to their fate.

"Hey guys!" Ed called cheerily as he entered. "You're all looking exceptionally gloomy today. Bad game, huh?"

No one looked up. A few of them growled as they changed out of their uniforms. Someone threw a damp towel at one of the others, muttering something to him angrily. Ed smirked as he looked over each of the players, not caring that they probably wanted to kill him.

"I'll be blunt. What happened to Malfoy?"

The boy with the damp towel on his face flinched slightly. Several other players suddenly came to life and began to talk all at once. Some of them sounded furious, especially one boy that Ed discovered was the team captain.

"I oughta throw him off the team!" he raved as he approached Edward. "That Malfoy only shows up for every other practice, and then he has the balls to call in sick the day of the match!"

"He only goes to every other practice?" Ed echoed, blinking in confusion.

"If we're lucky!" the captain went on. "And on top o' that, Vaisey takes a bludger to the head during practice, so we've lost some of our best players in a shot!"

The captain continued to rage at the unlucky circumstances of their game, which was only getting the other players more riled up. Ed just lowered his gaze to the floor, his mind racing. As realization dawned on him, he clenched his teeth angrily, balling his hands into tight fists.

_'I should've known... That bastard! Mustang's gonna scream my ears off when he hears about this...'_

Before the Slytherin team could start fighting amongst themselves, Ed quickly thanked the captain and darted back out the door, mentally cursing Malfoy several different ways to hell. As he reentered the school grounds and turned a corner, he crashed rather violently into somebody and they both tumbled to the floor. Ed quickly pulled himself together, sitting up and shaking his head.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Actually, he wasn't really sorry at all. He was annoyed and angry, partially with whoever he had bumped into, but mostly with Draco. Ed was ready to pick himself up, make a mad dash down the hall, and leave whoever had fallen to the floor in his dust.

"That's alright," said a familiar voice. "I-I'm sorry, too. I wasn't looking where I was going, and..."

Ed looked across the wide corridor to see who it was and saw Hermione Granger, looking very upset and on the verge of tears. He blinked in shock as he looked at her, all thought of finding Malfoy suddenly gone.

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

The bushy-haired girl slowly looked back up at him and her eyes grew wide. Hermione quickly turned away, apparently embarrassed to have been caught in such a state, and rose to her feet. She smoothed over her robes and skirt, trying to make herself look dignified. She sniffled slightly, wiping her face with one hand.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Ed said as he got up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Hermione answered quickly with a shake of her head. "Look, I... I've got to get going."

With that, she hurried away, rounding a corner in the hallway and vanishing out of sight. Ed watched her go for a moment, wondering what could have happened. Then he was suddenly hit with a powerful urgency as he remembered what he was supposed to be doing and hurried down the hall in the opposite direction. He pushed his worries about Hermione away for now, forcing himself to focus on finding Malfoy.

Ed searched the castle several times over, from the dungeons to the North Tower, but there was still no sign of Draco anywhere. It was almost as though he had disappeared into thin air (which may very well have happened, for all Ed knew about magic). He didn't think he left any rooms out of his search. It seemed to him like he now had the entire layout of the school memorized. And after catching a glimpse of the stock in the school library, he made a mental note to make a trip there sometime soon. How he had stayed away from that library for two months, Ed wasn't sure.

Draco was still missing throughout dinner, which made Pansy whine and complain in the most annoying manner possible all night long. He showed up quite suddenly just as everyone left the Great Hall and headed for the dorms.

Zabini's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. "Malfoy?"

The platinum blonde boy turned at the sound of his name, a tired look on his face. "What?"

Ed clenched his teeth angrily. "Where the _hell _have you been?" he shouted from down the hall, fighting the urge to rush over and punch him in the nose.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "None of your business."

_'It _is _my business, dammit!' _Ed wanted to scream, but resisted.

Pansy was the first to approach Draco, running toward him and smothering him in one of her insane hugs that she reserved especially for him. However, the moment was short-lived as she suddenly pushed him away with fire in her eyes.

"Where did you run off to, Drakey?" she scolded him sharply. "I was worried sick about you!"

"Looks like _he's _the sick one, Pansy," said Crabbe/Goyle as everyone approached. "What were you doing all afternoon?"

"You ran out on a game against _Gryffindor_, Malfoy!" Zabini raved, running his hands over his head. "You've never passed up an opportunity to humiliate Potty and his little friends before."

Draco just shrugged his shoulders carelessly in response. "Well, I just didn't feel up to it today. I was a little under the weather, you realize."

"You were insisting that you'd be able to play before the game," Ed pointed out, his voice firm.

A pair of weary-looking silver eyes slowly turned to look at Edward. "Well. That was before I got to the pitch, wasn't it?"

The alchemist narrowed his eyes. "I don't buy that."

Malfoy turned away again. "Too bad, 'cause that's the truth."

Before Ed could get in another word, everyone began to tell both him and Draco what happened at the Quidditch game they had missed. They took extra care to mention how they probably would have won if Draco had been there, but the Slytherin seeker didn't care. Draco didn't seem to be particularly interested in hearing about the game at all. Ed only half-listened to their account of the match, but his mind was mostly preoccupied with trying to figure out where Malfoy had disappeared to.

His disappearances were glaringly suspicious. And Edward fully intended to find out exactly what was going on.


	12. The Sorceror's Stone

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**_**  
by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa _or _J.K. Rowling overnight.

**From the Author: **I just wanted to tell everyone that there may not be any updates for the next week or so, and they may become a little more sporadic depending on what happens to my schedule now that I'm finally out of classes for the summer. :P but I'll do my best to continue getting a chapter up once a week, so don't worry! okay, so now to address some reviews.

Reta McClain - sure, you can translate it! that'd be very interesting to see. just e-mail me first and let me know the URL for the story. i had a plagiarizing escapade recently, so i'm kinda feeling a little bit paranoid. i just wanna be sure that i can contact you somehow.

strangeanimefreak - Hermione's pairing is kinda up in the air right now, isn't it? hehehe... i'll leave it at that for now. 

Fae Elric - ohhhh, the fangirl urges to attack Hermione in a fit of jealousy are strong! but i think i would be angrier with her if she hadn't accepted, because how could anybody refuse _Edward Elric_ for a date? _I _sure as hell wouldn't! if he asked me out on a date, I'd have to be crazy not to go!

Beboots - hehehe... i'm not gonna answer any of those questions right now. you shall just have to continue reading! XD

i AM the Random Idiot - hello again! XD right now i'm thinking that you are like, my favorite reviewer. i'm so glad that you got to watch FMA! but you should also read the manga because it's seriously just... so much better. if you can imagine that. OO

HecatonchiresLM - yes, i miss Al, too. but he shall make a great and victorious return, i promise you!

to everyone else - thanks for reviewing! i shall leave all questions regarding alchemy and Ed's auto-mail alone. they shall be answered in due time. :) and i'm always glad to see people stop to read CSAG in spite of themselves. and i'm even more glad that people like it! thanks very much! it really means a lot to me!

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**Chapter 12****  
The Sorcerer's Stone**

Draco suddenly seemed to be getting into trouble with practically all of his teachers, much to his own chagrin. Though he still did well on tests in class, he was often chastised for his increasingly careless wand work and for several missing assignments. He landed himself several detentions among various teachers as time wore on. Much to the rest of their House's relief, his academic sufferings wasn't taking any points away from them, but because of his many punishments Draco was seen less and less with his usual flock of lackeys. As a result, Pansy spent less time with the boys and more with other Slytherin girls (a change which none of the boys complained about very much) and the world discovered that Crabbe and Goyle did in fact have the ability to think for themselves (to an extent).

On the other hand, the numerous detentions Draco received caused problems for Ed and his mission. He obviously wasn't allowed to sit in his detention times and just waiting outside of the professor's office or classroom didn't sit well with him. So, just as he had with the "Quidditch practices" (a trick which Ed was still furious about), Ed spent those times either at the owlery or at the library. However, he knew of Draco's trickery better now and always made sure to "accidentally" bump into the Slytherin the very moment he got out of detention. Though sometimes he also got detention, usually with McGonagall concerning his consistent and stubborn refusal to transfigure live animals.

Today, however, Draco had an unusually severe detention with Professor Vector for falling asleep in their Arithmancy class. His head had actually dropped down onto Ed's left shoulder, which he quickly shoved off and allowed to fall to the desk with a rather loud thud. The noise had drawn the attention of the entire class on to Draco, and Professor Vector's punishment came down as swiftly and sharply as a ruler on the table.

Ed therefore confined himself in the library for the time being, scouring every book he could get his hands on for answers to his burning questions. He had yet to find an explanation of magic and was starting to think that there was none, which was even more frustrating for a scientist like himself.

Libraries had always been appealing to the Elric brothers. They'd been in numerous libraries and studies in the past four years, almost always reading research journals and textbooks of the most complex material. One of their most recent trips to the library had been rather disastrous, however. Ten straight days of being holed up in the Central Library, decoding an alchemic research journal and finding "the truth within the truth." Plus another episode of the patented Edward Elric recklessness...

Ed groaned, shutting the latest book with a soft slap. He chucked it onto the table with the others and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes free of the weariness. He must have been reading for several hours now. His eyes were starting to ache from the strain.

"Edward?"

He removed his hand from his eyes and looked up to see who was there. Standing next to one of the nearby bookshelves was Hermione, staring wide-eyed at the piles of books on the table in front of Ed. She was carrying several thick books in her arms as well, but she was clearly awestruck.

"Oh, uh, hi Hermione!"

"Did you... You didn't actually read _all _of these books, did you?" Hermione squeaked, astonished.

Ed scratched the back of his neck with a soft, nervous laugh. "Is it _that _hard to believe?"

Hermione nodded, her lips pursed together. She then moved forward, placing her books on the table and looking over some of the titles that Ed had gone through. She smiled slightly as she noticed some of the thicker books.

"And they say _I'm _a bookworm," she murmured amusedly. "I think maybe you should have been sorted into Ravenclaw."

Ed smiled wistfully as he recalled a certain mousy-looking girl with glasses. "Trust me, there are bigger bookworms out there." His smile grew as he remembered the piles of books she had recreated from memory. "There really are some incredible people in the world."

The Gryffindor looked up at Ed curiously. "How do you mean?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. "It's nothing. Forget it."

Hermione gave him an odd look before rolling her eyes and dismissing it. "Anyway, what are you reading all these for? Looking for something?"

Edward hesitated for a moment, his eyes traveling over the piles of books on the table. He couldn't just tell her that he was researching magic because he was a scientist and needed to understand how it worked. It would just be opening up a whole new set of questions that Ed was not willing nor was he allowed to answer. At length, he just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

"Just needed something to read."

She nodded her head knowingly. "I see."

"What about you? What's all that for?" Ed gestured at the books Hermione put on the table.

"Some light reading," she said, practically beaming.

"That so?" He reached over and picked up the first thick book in her pile and examined the cover. "_'Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charms'_? What's this for?"

Hermione just smiled, tucking some stray hair behind her ear. "Harry, Ron, and I came across this book during our fourth year and I never really got the chance to properly read it. I just thought it would be interesting to have a look at, that's all."

Ed nodded slowly. He definitely had to admire her work ethic and her dedication to school. He then put the book back down and looked at the next book in Hermione's pile. His eyes suddenly went wide. It was a heavy, musty-looking book with a dark brown cover. It looked extremely old, as though no one had touched it for years. Drawn faintly on the cover was what seemed to be a transmutation circle of some sort, though it was hard to tell because of the book's age. Ed opened the cover and looked at the title page, his eyes still wide.

"_'The Beginner's Guide to Alchemy'_...?"

He tried to mask his surprise, glancing curiously over at Hermione. The girl just smiled proudly, pushing some hair out of her face.

"Can you believe I found that?" she said animatedly. "I didn't know they had it here. I never noticed it before, but it _was _sorted out of its genre. Would you imagine, finding that in the fiction section of the library? Honestly!"

A small smirk had made its way onto Ed's face, genuinely amused that an alchemy book was in Hogwarts at all. "Why're you so interested in alchemy, Hermione?"

Still smiling proudly, Hermione flicked some hair over her shoulder. "Well, it started back in our first year. You see, Harry, Ron, and I heard about this..."

Ed nodded absent-mindedly, her voice slowly getting tuned out as he turned his attention to the book in his hands. What did these wizards know about alchemy? He'd never thought to ask anyone about the subject in order to keep himself and his specialty a secret. But to think that they might actually know something about alchemy was somewhat exciting. He flipped to the first page and began to read the introduction:

_Alchemy is a form of very advanced magic that few are able to perform. When performed successfully, it can be used to transform, or transmute, one sort of material into another. It was a much sought after art in the past, mainly to find a way to turn lead into gold. However..._

A disappointed frown appeared on Ed's face. Whoever wrote the book had no idea what they were talking about. Or they were talking about something else and had just called it 'alchemy.' Or maybe the book and its contents were completely outdated. Regardless, they weren't talking about _his_ alchemy. For starters, alchemy was a _science_, not an art, and certainly not a form of magic. Ed quickly skimmed through the rest of the chapters. Not a single word on the principle of equivalent exchange, either. It was wrong. It really _did _belong with the other fiction books.

He sighed in annoyance as he shut the book with a soft slap. He was about to put it back down on the table when two words pierced through Ed's senses.

"... Stone, or the _Philosopher's_ Stone, as some call it. He..."

He instantly froze, the book hovering just centimeters over the pile it belonged to. Slowly, Ed looked back up at Hermione, his gold eyes wide in amazement.

"What did you just say?"

Hermione looked confused and offended all at once. "About Nicolas Flamel? Well, I was just saying that he's a famous alchemist. He created the Sorcerer's Stone. Some people call it the Philosopher'sStone, but anyway..."

"He... He _created _it?" Ed choked out. "He actually _created _the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Well," Hermione stammered, "yes. Yes, he did."

An unsettling feeling erupted in his stomach and Ed thought he was going to be sick. He rubbed his forehead and his voice became soft, shaking with disgust. "What kind of sick bastard would _actually_..."

"Is something wrong?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Does anyone know how he made the stone?" Ed asked, raising his voice slightly as he looked at the Gryffindor with a very serious expression on his face. "Are there any records of his research, or any books he may have published?"

She gave a small start at the look on his face and turned away. "I'm not entirely sure, but... I suppose the headmaster would know something of it. After all-"

"Thanks."

Ed shoved the alchemy book into Hermione's hands as he brushed past and left the library, leaving a very stunned Hermione Granger in his wake. He quickly made his way down corridors and up stairs to the headmaster's office, walking with such urgency in his step that no one dared to stand in his path. He pulled out his pocket watch briefly and glanced at the time. He had just over an hour before Draco was released from his detention with Professor Vector.

By the time he reached the gargoyle that marked the entrance to the headmaster's office, Ed realized that he didn't know how to get inside. He vaguely remembered McGonagall saying some sort of password, but Ed couldn't remember what it was. Either way, Ed didn't have time to just stand out there dumbly. He glared at the gargoyle.

"I need to talk to the headmaster," Ed growled, as though the statue could understand him. "Lemme in there, or you're gonna be a pile of pebbles on the floor."

Interestingly enough, the gargoyle actually did jump out of the way and the moving staircase was revealed to him. Ed blinked in surprise. Had his threat actually worked? He shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind. He then darted up the steps, taking them two at a time, and arrived in front of Dumbledore's office in no time at all. The headmaster obviously expected him, having moved the gargoyle out of the way upon hearing Edward's voice. The jovial twinkle in his blue eyes faded slightly when he saw the serious, urgent look on the young state alchemist's face as he burst through the doors.

"How may I help you, Edward?"

Ed clenched his fists at his sides and stepped closer to the desk. "Remember you offering to let me borrow any of your books at the start of the term?"

Dumbledore's eyes flickered over to look at the large bookshelves. "Yes, I do."

"I'm gonna have to take you up on that."

* * *

While the books in Dumbledore's office were much more informative than those in the library, Ed was still at a loss for leads concerning the Philosopher's Stone. He couldn't seem to find much of anything on alchemy, and what he found about Nicolas Flamel seemed to be the same thing over and over again. Even so, he wasn't about to give up. Ed was now sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the shelf and completely surrounded by a mess of open books that he was finished with, another thick text in his hands. 

The headmaster had been watching Edward, leaning forward on his desk with his fingers interlaced. It was hard to tell if he was fascinated by the alchemist's behavior or if he was analyzing him. The boy had been at it for almost an hour.

"What are you searching for, Edward?" Dumbledore asked him at length.

It took a moment for Ed to even realize that the headmaster had spoken to him, having been so absorbed in the material he was reading. He raised his golden eyes slightly from the text of his book to look at the old wizard.

"Hm? Sir?"

"What is it that you are searching for?" the headmaster reiterated.

Ed hesitated before responding. "Headmaster, what do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?"

Suddenly, Dumbledore looked as though dawn had just broken out over his face. He nodded slowly, a small smile on his lips. "I see. The Philosopher's Stone. I take it you are searching for Nicolas Flamel's research, then."

The fact that the old wizard understood things so quickly was a little unnerving. Ed hesitated for a moment again, averting his gaze.

"I... I need to know how he did it," he said quietly. "How to create a Philosopher's Stone... When my brother and I first learned how it was done, we were... disgusted. I couldn't believe it. To sacrifice living humans... I thought about giving up completely, but then realized there was something more to it. So..." Ed looked back up, his gold eyes gleaming with determination. "I need to know. If Flamel knew something or used some alternate method, then I need to know."

Dumbledore wore an unreadable expression. He just gazed at Edward, studying every detail of his face. "May I ask... what you need the stone for?"

There was a long silence and Ed turned away again. He shut his eyes as the painful memories resurfaced and gripped his auto-mail arm. Images of his younger brother flashed in his mind's eye; images of both his true, natural born face and of his empty shell of armor.

"There's something I have to do," he said at last. "I... I did something horrible. It's my fault, and it's my duty to fix it."

The headmaster nodded again as he absorbed what Ed was telling him. After a moment, he rose to his feet and walked toward Edward solemnly. "It was here, you know."

Ed's eyes shot open and grew wide. _What_? He slowly looked up at the old wizard, his mouth slightly agape. "You mean..."

"The stone was here."

"It was?" he yelled excitedly, leaping to his feet. "Really? Where is it now?"

There was a pause. "We had to destroy it. Almost five years ago."

Ed's heart sank into his stomach. He suddenly felt sick again and had to grip the shelf behind him for support. The circular room seemed to be spinning. "Destroyed...?" he could hear himself say, his voice just over a whisper. "Then... the sacrifices of all those people... Their lives..."

"However, I do not believe that stone was the one you are searching for." Dumbledore placed a steadying hand on Ed's shoulder. "No lives were taken, or sacrificed. No one was harmed."

"A... different stone?" Ed murmured, his eyes still wide. "Then... what...?"

"The stone that Nicolas Flamel created," the headmaster explained, "gave a person the ability to turn lead into gold and was a key element in creating the Elixir of Life. Voldemort wished to create the Elixir and obtain immortality, which is the very reason we had to destroy it." He then looked meaningfully at Edward. "But the stone of which you speak appears to be of a different nature. It is meant to... act as an alchemic amplifier of some sort. Am I wrong?"

Ed was silent for a moment as he rolled the words over in his head. "No, you're right," he said slowly. He then sighed in relief, leaning back against the shelf. "So it's a different stone... No one was killed."

Dumbledore smiled slightly, nodding his head. "That's right."

"But that means," Ed muttered with a disheartened groan, "I'm back to square one."

He groaned again and hung his head in defeat, at which Dumbledore just laughed softly. He then pulled out his wand and used magic to return all the books that Ed had taken down in his frenzied search. Ed took a deep, calming breath as he composed himself.

"I'll just have to keep looking, then. Maybe there's a way to create the stone Al and I are looking for with magic."

"Let me know if I can be of any further assistance," said Dumbledore, returning to his desk.

"Alright, but for now, could you maybe keep an eye out for any of Flamel's research documents? I'm sure they'd really help out."

The headmaster's smile grew. "Of course."

Ed gave him a boyish grin as he turned to leave, but then halted when his eye caught on something. He quickly pulled out a book entitled _'Where There's A Wand, There's A Way'_ from the shelf and raised it slightly so the headmaster could see.

"I'm just gonna borrow this one," he said. "Thanks!"

"Oh, Edward," Dumbledore called out, "one more thing, before I forget."

The young alchemist froze in place and turned back to look at the headmaster expectantly. A merry twinkle could be seen in Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"The password is 'Acid Pops.' Just so you don't have to threaten my gargoyle anymore."

The headmaster winked playfully. Ed's cheeks flushed a little, a sheepish grin on his face as he pulled open the main door and slipped out of the office.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hehe, hey, I couldn't resist. I mean, what's an FMA/HP crossover without mention of the great Sorceror's/Philosopher's Stone? I just had to have it somewhere. Just took my time putting it in. :P short chapter, I know, but... it shall suffice. 


	13. The Dating Problem

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa _or _J.K. Rowling overnight.

**Author's Note: **sorry it took so long! i've been having a bit of writer's block lately, too, but i'll manage. and to my family, vacation is a busy time. :P we always have to be doing something. sheesh. but anyways, here's the next chapter! i tried to upload this last week, but the site was having some sort of weird problem, so i decided to try again later... oddly enough, "later" ended up lasting a few days. ehehe... so thanks for everyone's patience and i hope that you guys continue to enjoy the story.

**

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**Chapter 13**  
**The Dating Problem**

Winter descended upon Hogwarts with a thick blanket of sleet and snow (which was never a good thing for someone with metal limbs). The first semester was almost over and their winter break would be starting soon. Everyone at Hogwarts was brimming with excitement; some just wanted classes to end and others were eagerly anticipating their Christmas presents.

As for Edward, he suddenly found himself swamped with letters from Amestris. Several were from Al, but the larger bulk came from headquarters, all with essentially the same message: Have you seen Roy Mustang? Roy had apparently told everyone that he was leaving on business to check up on Ed, but since Ed hadn't seen the bastard and therefore had no idea where he was, the colonel had just plain gone missing. Ed didn't really care what had happened just as long as it meant that Mustang wasn't around to bother him. On the other hand, he had to wonder where his reports were going.

By now, everyone had heard about Slughorn's upcoming Christmas party and it quickly became the most popular thing to talk about. Many students that wanted to go were slithering up to those who were invited. Zabini had asked some blonde Ravenclaw girl or something and many girls were apparently competing for Harry's attention. Fortunately for Ed, no one was pining over him since they already knew he was going with Hermione (which Alphonse was still teasing him about). Yet every time he walked past a group of girls in the hall, they would all watch him forlornly and release a round of dramatic sighs.

All the excitement over the party seemed to irritate Draco more than anything, probably because he hadn't been invited. Every time he heard someone mention the party he would scowl in annoyance and mutter something about how he had something to do that night anyway.

The last day of classes for the semester arrived and the student body was alive with thought of vacation and Slughorn's party to be held that night. Those who were invited were fussing over their dates and what to wear while the people who wanted to go were still trying to find a way in. Ed couldn't say he was really looking forward to Slughorn's party, but he couldn't help feeling anxious about it.

"So Elric, what time are you and Granger meeting tonight?"

Ed practically choked on his food at the question and was thrown into a full blown coughing fit. Crabbe and Goyle snickered at the reaction while Draco turned indignantly away, refusing to pay attention. Pansy pulled a disgusted face when she heard the question, even though she was currently engaged in a conversation with some of the other Slytherin girls. Meanwhile, Blaise Zabini, the fiend that asked the question, was looking at Ed with a smug expression on his face.

"H-Huh?"

Zabini gave a sly smile, elbowing Ed teasingly. "Your Mudblood date to Slughorn's party, remember?"

He could feel his face burn slightly as he reached for his pumpkin juice and started to gulp it all down. Blaise's smile seemed to be growing.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten! Hard to forget an ass like hers, I'd think."

His pumpkin juice almost sprayed out across the table and straight into Crabbe/Goyle's dumb face. Pansy looked just as shocked and even reached over to slap Zabini's arm, interrupting the conversation she was having with the other girls.

"Would you shut the bloody hell _up_, Zabini?" Draco snarled, his attempt to ignore the conversation failing miserably.

Zabini just laughed out loud. "Well don't leave us hanging, Elric!" he grinned. "It's a simple question, you know."

Ed took a deep breath to compose himself, though his face was still slightly red. "I don't know, okay? I haven't talked to her about that yet."

"Sheesh," Zabini muttered, though still pleased at the scene he had caused. "You're a total amateur at this, eh, Elric? You realize the party is _tonight_, don't you?"

The blonde just rolled his eyes as he worked on properly drinking his pumpkin juice. "Just leave me alone. I'll get around to it."

Zabini sighed, exasperated. He suddenly rose to his feet, grabbing hold of Ed's arm and pulling him out of his seat. Ed yelled out in surprise as Zabini dragged him across the Great Hall, his gold eyes wide in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"_I'll _show you how it's done."

"N-No!" Ed shouted, struggling to break free. "I don't need you showing me how it's done! Back off! Lemme go!"

He looked around the Great Hall frantically. Everyone was staring at the scene they had caused and a few people were holding back their laughter. Ed wanted very much to hit someone as they passed to shut them up, or maybe transmute the tables and scare them all so much they'd forget all about what was going on. But he had no choice in the matter. He could only look on as the Gryffindor table drew nearer and nearer. There was a bewildered look on Hermione's face as Zabini dragged him toward her.

"Hey, Granger! Elric's got something to say."

Zabini grinned as he threw Ed forward. Edward stumbled slightly, but quickly straightened himself. He stood with his back straight and his arms pinned to his sides as though he were standing at strict attention in the Fuhrer's office. Ron was giving Ed a mean look, in spite of the girl who had wrapped herself around him. Harry, as well as most of the other Gryffindors nearby, just looked completely dumbfounded. Hermione squirmed slightly in her seat, uncomfortable with all the attention they were getting.

"Hello Edward," she said, rather awkwardly.

"Uh..." Zabini gave Ed a rough nudge forward, prompting Ed to speak. "H-Hi... Hermione..."

"Is there... something I can do for you?"

His cheeks were starting to burn. He'd never been forced into a situation like this before. He wasn't sure what to do and just stood there, his mind racing, desperately searching for something to say. Ed was painfully aware of almost everyone in the Great Hall watching him, waiting to see what would happen next. Zabini was growing increasingly annoyed with the silence and rolled his eyes.

"Since Elric's _obviously _lost the ability for coherent speech," he said, slinging an arm over Ed's shoulder, "let me translate for him. He'll be waiting here for you at, what say, eight o'clock sharp? Ready to take you to Slughorn's party tonight. Fine by you?"

Ed felt like his entire head had turned red. Everyone turned their expectant gazes from him over to Hermione. She glanced about her quickly then lifted her chin into the air.

"Um, sure," she said, trying to sound confident. "That's fine."

Zabini smiled, giving Ed a hearty slap on the back. "Right! Then he'll see you later tonight!"

Hermione nodded her head and turned back to her meal. Ed still felt like his face was on fire as Zabini pushed him back in the direction of the Slytherin table.

"See?" he told him, clearly pleased with himself. "That wasn't so bad now, was it, Elric? You take notes for the next time?"

"Next time," Ed growled, finding his voice at last, "_you _can get dragged and shoved around like a rag doll, and _I'll _be the one publicly humiliating you."

The grin on Zabini's face only grew. "Very generous of you."

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to speed by. Ed and Draco had no classes after lunch, so they spent the afternoon just lounging around. Draco decided to take a nap in the dorms while Ed went through his books again, still trying to solve the great enigma that was magic and searching for information that may help his search for the Philosopher's Stone. He had started taking notes in his research notebook and was constantly examining them to see if he had overlooked anything. Ed also killed some time wandering the halls while Draco was still asleep, stretching his cramped limbs. While doing so, he saw a strange looking creature of some sort swooping up and down all the corridors screeching "Potty loves Loony" in the loudest, most annoying manner possible. 

As night began to fall, Zabini came into the dormitory to get ready for his date to Slughorn's party. Ed took that as a cue to get ready as well and excused himself to change into his usual black outfit. When he reentered the room, Zabini was dressed in a black and white tuxedo and was standing in front of a full-length mirror that he had evidently conjured up. Ed looked him over, his face expressionless.

"Nice tux."

"'Tucks'? These are _dress robes_, mate."

Ed raised an eyebrow at him then shrugged, moving toward his trunk to put away the school robes. As far as he was concerned, it was a tuxedo, and why any guy would want it to be known as "_dress _robes" was beyond him. Draco just narrowed his eyes at both of his roommates from where he lay stretched out on his bed.

"Zabini, you look like a bloody penguin," he muttered.

Blaise examined himself in the mirror. He turned around to examine the backside and then ran one hand over his head, giving the mirror a charming smile as though he intended to seduce it.

"I think I look good," he said after a moment. "If anyone needs to rethink their clothes, it's Elric."

Ed shut his trunk with a loud snap. "Bite me."

"_Very _charming," Zabini grinned. "You're sure to get Granger into your bed that way."

Suddenly Draco sat straight up in the bed, his face red with rage. He kept switching his angry glare between Zabini and Edward as though he couldn't decide which one of them he wanted to kill. Ed's cheeks instantly flamed upward and he shot a dangerous look in Zabini's direction.

"Who said anything about getting her into my bed?" he shouted indignantly. "I'm not a sick pervert like you!"

"Damn _right _you're not getting her into your bed!" Draco yelled, finally deciding that he would hate Ed. "You keep your hands off her!"

Just as he yelled, Crabbe and Goyle entered the room, only to freeze in their tracks at the doorway. Everyone was now looking at Draco in a blend of amusement and shock. Malfoy looked at each of them in turn, faltering slightly as his face started to redden even more, then finally leaned back on his bed.

"She's a filthy Mudblood," he said quickly. "For your own sake, keep your hands to yourself."

Ed smirked. "Right."

"Ease off, Malfoy," said Zabini with a sly smile. "I was only kidding. Besides, I doubt if Granger would let Elric touch her at all."

Ed made a face. He wasn't sure whether or not to be offended by that comment. Crabbe and Goyle exchanged confused glances before finally shrugging and stepped into the room. They both went to their respective trunks and started to pull out some school supplies and textbooks. When Draco noticed this, he sat back up in bed, an incredulous look on his face.

"Crabbe, Goyle, what the hell are you doing?"

One of them looked up at Draco and groaned. "Snape's given us detention."

"WHAT?" Draco shouted indignantly, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "Detention? On the bloody last day of school?"

The other one shut his trunk and hung his head. "Yeah. We're not doing so well in DADA."

"But what about-"

"Sorry, mate," Crabbe/Goyle mumbled as he walked toward the door.

"Yeah, sorry," said the other Crabbe/Goyle as he joined his other half at the door.

Then they both left the dorm, heading off to meet Snape and do whatever he told them to do as punishment. Draco stared off in the direction they left, his eyes wide. He then flopped back down in his bed, running his hands through his white-blonde hair in frustration.

"SNAPE!" he shouted, his voice shrill with rage. "Bloody _Snape_ and his damned DADA class! He doesn't know what the bloody hell he's doing! He just... DAMN HIM! This is total bollocks!"

Zabini snorted as he checked himself in the mirror again. "Well, this is new, you ranting about Snape..."

"What?"

"You've always been the one to stick up for him. Thought he was your favorite teacher or something."

Malfoy grunted in response, settling himself comfortably into his bed.

"Come to think of it," Ed said slowly, "weren't you supposed to go to his office after class the other day? I thought I heard him say something."

"Uh-oh," Zabini winced. "You know how he gets when you miss his appointments."

Draco snorted. "Like I care."

Ed raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Draco. Malfoy just glowered back at them with a look on his face that demanded silence. Zabini smirked slightly as he tweaked his appearance, removing his tie and leaving the first few buttons of his white shirt undone. Then, quickly spinning in place one last time, Zabini bid the others farewell and went off to meet his blonde Ravenclaw date.

Draco grunted after Zabini as he made himself comfortable on his bed, propping his head up with his arms and falling into a silent, thoughtful reverie. Ed watched him for a moment, as though waiting for him to do something suspicious. There were so many accusations at the tip of the state alchemist's tongue, but he still had nothing to support his claims. He hadn't even really reported every detail of the situation to headquarters; he only gave them half-truths and things they really needed to know.

As Ed watched Draco, he realized that the Malfoy heir looked more ill than ever. He had noticed Draco starting to look more fatigued and sickly as time passed, but now there were definite shadows beneath his eyes and his skin had a distinct tinge of gray to it. Ed narrowed his eyes. He couldn't figure out why Draco was in such a state. He didn't believe for a second the excuse Draco had been giving to Pansy and the others; that it was just the stress of receiving so many punishments and detentions. He knew there was something else.

"What were you and the idiot duo supposed to do tonight?"

The Slytherin opened his eyes and glanced at Ed. Ed studied his features, trying to see if he could figure something out just by looking at him. But his blank expression gave away nothing.

"It's none of your business, Elric."

"I thought you'd say that," Ed grumbled. _'Looks like I'm gonna have to try to worm my way into your business.' _"I just wanted to know if I could help or something."

Draco's face twisted into a sneer. "_You _wanna _help_? Bollocks."

Ed grunted. _'Untrusting, suspicious little...'_ "It was just an offer..."

"Besides," Draco hissed in disgust, "aren't you running late for your _date _with Granger?" He put a special, disgusted emphasis on the word "date."

"Fine then," Ed muttered, narrowing his eyes. "I'm going."

He looked down at his white gloves and adjusted them carefully so that nothing metallic could be seen. Then, making sure he was presentable at least, Ed moved toward the door to leave. Just before he stepped out of the room, he glanced back at Draco over his shoulder.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Malfoy threw him a dangerous glare. "Get out of here and take your bloody concern with you. I'll be just fine, thanks, so leave me alone."

He hesitated briefly before finally leaving the dorm and shutting the door behind him. Ed wasn't concerned about whether or not Draco would be alright. He was concerned about what that boy did when no one was looking. Ed hated to admit it, but Mustang had been right at the start of term. He had to befriend Draco somehow. Otherwise, he wasn't going to get anywhere.

* * *

_'Maybe this was a bad idea.'_

Edward shuffled his feet as he waited for Hermione in front of the Great Hall. He couldn't help but feel nervous. He'd never done this before and he couldn't for the life of him remember the one time that he did ask a girl out (asking Winry to marry him when they were five). Any chances for interaction with people his age had been shot the day he left to become a dog of the military. He'd never imagined - not once - that he would actually have to ask a girl on a date as part of a mission.

"Give me a war over a date any day of the week,"he mumbled miserably to himself. "I'll take it. How the hell do people manage to do this?"

He switched his fidgeting from his feet to his hands, pulling at the material of his jacket and glove to hide his auto-mail. A sudden realization hit him, along with a whole new wave of panic.

_'What if Hermione wants to dance?'_

Dance? Would she really want to dance? Did people still _do _that at parties? And what if she did? Hermione would have to touch his arm and she'd feel his auto-mail! She would know the difference between flesh and metal right away! Ed pushed the thought out of his mind immediately. If worse came to worse, he'd run away. It was that simple.

After a while of waiting, a small crowd of girls began to form near the doorway. They were all staring at Ed and releasing their overly dramatic, forlorn sighs. Ed did his best to ignore them, but their collective sighs were so loud that they were getting on his nerves.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Edward."

At the sound of Hermione's voice, Ed instantly spun around to face her. He had been planning on instantly grabbing her arm and dragging her away from the Great Hall and those crazy, sighing girls as quickly as possible, but as soon as he saw her, he froze.

She was wearing a faded green tube dress that had a slight frill at the top. The dress clung tightly to her torso, emphasizing her slim figure. The skirt fell down to her knees in many intricate folds. She had flattened her hair slightly, so it was no longer a bushy, frizzy mane of chestnut brown but had turned into elegant curls and waves. Over her shoulders she had self-consciously pulled on her black cloak, though it didn't hide her very well. Ed instantly forgot all about escaping the amassed girls at the door, a faint blush coming to his cheeks.

"H-Hi..." He caught himself before he was full out gawking at her and tried to force himself out of his daze. "You, um... You look nice!"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably under his amazed stare. "Well, Parvati helped me. Erm... You look good, as well! Very distinguished."

"Oh, um... Thanks!" Ed's cheeks turned a shade redder as he looked away, embarrassed. He knew she meant it as a compliment, but he'd never thought his usual black outfit was distinguishing. _'Maybe I should have taken Zabini's advice and given more thought to my clothes.'_

At the same time, a round of disappointed sounds came from the girls at the door, making their (unwanted) presence known to both teenagers. Ed glanced over at them, making a face.

"Let's get out of here. I don't think I can handle being around those girls any longer."

Hermione nodded, the look on her face saying that she felt the same way. Ed took Hermione by the arm and led her away quickly, only slowing down the instant they turned the corner. He paused and took some time to make sure they weren't followed, then released a relieved sigh and started walking to Slughorn's room with Hermione at his side.

"Shouldn't we be hurrying?" she asked him. "I think we might be late."

Ed just stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "I'm not really in any rush to get there."

The Gryffindor nodded her head slowly and was quiet. After a few moments of walking, Ed glanced over at Hermione and groaned inwardly.

_'This is awkward...'_

Somewhere deep down, Ed knew that part of the awkwardness was because he couldn't help feeling like a wrench was going to soar through the air and smack him square in the face at any moment. As he thought about it further, he realized it was only going to get worse. At some point, Ed knew he was going to have to ask Hermione what she could tell him about Malfoy. He already knew that it was going to be an immensely awkward conversation and had no idea how to bring it up other than to just ask her directly. Ed mentally slapped himself. Some wonderful date he was turning out to be.

Hermione chose to break the silence first. "So Edward-"

"Oh, uh, just 'Ed' is fine."

"Alright, then," she said, taking a breath. "Ed. How's your first term at Hogwarts been?"

Ed looked up at Hermione, realizing for the first time how much taller she was. "It's... been good. It just took some getting used to."

"It's a wonderful place, isn't it? I imagine it's rather different from the academy in Germany."

There was a proud tone in her voice that Ed almost laughed at. Was she trying to compare Hogwarts to a school that didn't exist? Ed smirked, deciding to play along.

"Definitely," he told her with a slight laugh. "Back there, the principal is an irresponsible bastard who's only interested in flirting and going out on dates with girls."

A scandalized look suddenly appeared on Hermione's face. "What?"

"Yep!" Ed went on, enjoying himself. "He only does his work when the vice principal fires a few shots near his head. Other than that, I guess it's a pretty standard school. The students mostly just do what they want. I mean, we've all got independent study projects to work on, so it's no big deal."

Hermione looked stunned by the half-truths that Ed told her. "Well, that sounds... interesting."

He just grinned broadly, pleased. Ed suddenly realized how much he had missed Amestris, even if it was full of strange people that (for the most part) enjoyed annoying him. He definitely missed the freedom that he had there, getting to wander around the countryside with Al and helping people on the way.

"It's not much, but... it's home."

A wistful smile appeared on Hermione's face. "Well, Hogwarts has become like a second home to me," she said. "It has to all of us, really. We practically grew up in these halls. Me, Harry, Ron..."

"And Draco."

The words flew out of his mouth before Ed could stop them. Hermione turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Erm, well, yes." Hermione bit down on her lip. "Though we didn't really grow up _with _him..."

"Well, you said that you've known him for six years..."

There was a short, awkward silence, and Ed was starting to regret his own bluntness.

"I can't say that I _really _know him," Hermione said at last. "He mostly just spends time insulting Harry and Ron."

Ed laughed slightly. "I noticed that."

She drew in a deep breath and took on a thoughtful look. "He's... Well, he's an insufferable git. He just likes provoking Harry and Ron, and it's ridiculous how they give in to it repeatedly."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Well, yes... I suppose so. I don't know what he expects to gain from it, though."

He couldn't stop himself from snorting. _'Maybe it's because he's a spoiled elitist bastard that has nothing better to do.'_

"I always try to stop it, and I don't even know where I get the incentive," she went on. "On second thought, I think it's because I want to believe that it's just a mask he puts on."

Ed cupped his chin in his hand, his gaze lowering thoughtfully to the floor. "A mask, huh? Interesting... but what would he be hiding...?"

"Oh, Ed, I don't know," Hermione said with a sigh. He looked up in surprise, not realizing that he had spoken out loud. "Maybe I'm just being silly. Making Malfoy seem like some misunderstood person. He's always been so horrible to me, yet this year..." She looked thoughtful. "It's different. He hardly ever talks to me directly, but when he looks at me... it's a strange feeling. Like it's some other person looking at me, not the cruel, loathsome, foul person that he is."

"He does space out a lot, come to think of it," Ed murmured. "I sorta just figured that that's how he is, but... Cruel, loathsome, and foul, huh? Does that have anything to do with all that shit about mud and blood? What _is _that?"

"Oh. That." Hermione sighed again, exasperated. "You haven't heard of that term? Germany must have a different word for it then."

A nervous smile passed over Ed's lips. "G-Germany. Right."

"Mudblood's a really foul name for someone of non-magic heritage. Like me." She took a deep breath, shaking her head slowly. "Malfoy thinks he's above everyone because he's what people call 'pureblood.' It's utter nonsense, I know, and I used to... get really upset when he called me that. If there is one person I'd hate most in the world, that would be him."

"Just for that?" Ed shook his head in disapproval. "Man... I really don't get the customs around here... But it's just a word. It doesn't actually _mean _anything, Hermione."

"Perhaps," she said with a nod. "But... either way, I can't blame him, with the kind of environment he grew up in."

"Yeah," Ed snorted, as he thought of the screaming house-elf in Malfoy Manor. "Everyone back at that house was insane."

"Insane?" interjected Hermione. "Well, I'd think of a few more words to describe his father."

Ed raised his eyebrows. "His father? Lucius Malfoy?"

She just nodded, pressing her lips into a tight line.

"What about him?"

"He's a horrible man," she said, practically spitting the words out in disgust, "and I thought Malfoy was going to turn up just like him. I was just a child then, and everything seemed black and white to me. But now, I can't help feeling that Malfoy has reason to act like that. I mean it doesn't justify his calling me that awful name all this years... However, I don't feel he really means it anymore. I'm not as affected as I had been for all those years. It's absurd, but I want to think that it's not his fault, that somewhere deep down, he's a different person. I can never be sure though, he can be such a mystery sometimes..."

"Wow," Ed murmured, nodding his head. "I never thought of it that way... I guess the aristocracy really does run deep."

Hermione let out a small, nervous laugh, shaking her head. "Oh, Ed, I'm sorry. I'm getting carried away. I must sound ridiculous..."

"Not a problem," Ed smiled, waving a hand dismissively. "It's interesting, actually. Really interesting..."

The last words came out sounding more shrewd than he intended and Hermione gave him a strange look. "Why do you want to know all this?"

He shrugged his shoulders casually, ignoring it. "Just out of interest. Well, anyway... looks like we're here."

They had finally reached the entrance to Slughorn's room. The door stood partially open, allowing the jovial sounds of celebration and loud music to filter into the outside corridors. Hermione and Ed just stood outside for a while as though they were considering whether or not they should enter, then finally stepped inside to join the party.

* * *

**Author's Note: **credit for most of Hermione's dialogue in this chapter goes to MJade-1. and her dress is basically what Emma wore to the premiere for Prisoner of Azkaban, i'm just really really bad at describing clothes. i'm still jealous of her... 

this chapter was originally... much much MUCH Longer, so i decided to split it in half. i'm a little anxious to know what everyone thinks so far, so your reviews would be oh so beautiful to read and greatly appreciated! XD


	14. Of Dates and Parties

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. sorta AU with HBP and definitely AU with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa _or _J.K. Rowling overnight.

**Author's Note: **heeheehee, as usual, many thanks for all your reviews! it makes me feel like i have loyal readers here. XD to be honest, i have no idea why no one thought of having Ed and Draco hang out/get stuck with one another before i did. seriously. :Pbut i'm so glad that you all like my story! and hopefully, now we'll see some other stories with Ed in Slytherin.

Fae Elric - lol! aww, don't sell yourself short! but seriously, i hate describing clothes. i'm not very fashion oriented, even though i'm a girl. i just don't understand it very well. :P

Reggie Tuesday - i _adore_ Luna. she's got to be one of my favorite characters in the HP verse. i'm trying to figure out how else i can sneak her in here. :P

strangeanimefreak - me either. XP but that's only because i'm jealous.

Beboots - i'm glad you like those parts! i love writing 'em. :D and yes, Mustang has gone missing. the why and where to shall be explained in due time. :P stay tuned!

MJade-1 - have you read these reviews? THEY'RE THANKING YOU! XD i already thanked you, but i'll thank you again anyway. :D

* * *

**Chapter 14**  
**Of Dates and Parties**

For a long moment Ed just stood in the doorway, gaping at the set up before him. Ed wasn't sure if it had been built that way or if it was because of some magic spell, but Slughorn's office was much larger than one would expect of a teacher's study. His gold eyes darted from the colorful hangings (the place vaguely resembled a vast tent because of them) to the ornate golden lamps (he wasn't sure, but it seemed like there were fairies inside of them) to the house elves (that looked like little roving tables because of the platters of food over their heads). The room was crowded and stuffy and completely bathed in the red lamplight. Everyone was bunched in groups, making idle conversation about everything, from current events to school subjects. Some of the older guests had pipes dangling from the corners of their mouths as they talked to one another, creating small clouds of pipesmoke over them.

Hermione looked at Ed curiously, confused by the amazed expression on his face. "Are you all right, Edward?"

Ed quickly recovered from the shock with a shake of his head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

They then stepped further into the room and negotiated their way through the crowd, searching for someplace to sit. Ed took care to dodge the professors at all costs, just in case they wanted to have a word with him. For the first time in quite a while, Ed was glad he wasn't famous in this part of the world. To an extent, he missed being able to introduce himself as the Fullmetal Alchemist and have people go completely nuts over his fame. Right at that moment, however, he was happy being invisible amongst the wizards.

"Oi! Elric!"

But Ed wasn't quite as invisible as he thought. He couldn't stop himself from flinching at the familiar voice. The last thing he needed was for Zabini to come in and bother him. He was starting to remind Ed of Hughes - just without the photos. Ed tried to pretend he hadn't heard Zabini's voice and tugged on Hermione's arm to pull her away, but she had also been stopped and was now talking about something with Harry. He cursed his bad luck as Zabini casually slung an arm around his shoulders.

"How's the date going?"

"Just started," he grumbled, shoving Zabini's arm away. He looked over at the brunette girl standing next to Zabini and raised an eyebrow at her disheveled hair. "How's _your _date going?"

Zabini just smiled, a playful gleam in his eye. Ed rolled his eyes, getting the message. "Wasn't she blonde?"

"Blonde?" he echoed innocently. "Did I say that?" A mischievous smile danced on Zabini's lips. Ed shook his head disapprovingly. "So... where _is _Granger? You two get separated from each other or something? Must be hard being so little among all these giants..."

A vein popped out on Ed's head. "WHO DID YOU CALL MINIATURE SIZE?"

Before Zabini could walk away with a hearty laugh, Hermione suddenly turned to Edward with an outraged look on her face.

"Quidditch!" she was yelling. "Edward, is Quidditch all that boys care about?"

Ed blinked, completely bewildered. "Um... no?"

"_Thank _you!" she said, throwing her hands up into the air. "Honestly, Harry and-" Hermione stopped short when she noticed Zabini looking at her. "Oh... Hi Blaise."

Zabini raised his eyebrows in surprise. Eventually the surprise gave way to a suave smile. "Hello there. I don't believe we've met. You are...?"

It was Hermione's turn to look bewildered as she stared at the hand Zabini had extended toward her. She looked over at Ed for help, only getting more confused as the alchemist suddenly burst into laughter.

"You don't recognize her?" Ed managed to say.

"I think I would remember such a beautiful face," Zabini told Ed, keeping his cool. The brunette girl next to him smacked his arm in annoyance.

"Blaise," Hermione said, still very much confused. "It's _me_."

This didn't help much as Zabini was also still confused. Ed's grin was growing broader by the second. He was really starting to enjoy himself. This party was turning out to be a lot more fun than he had expected it to.

"Okay then! Blaise Zabini? Let me introduce you to Hermione Granger."

As the words registered in his mind, Zabini's calm expression melted away. His eyes grew wide as he looked Hermione up and down, his jaw dropping visibly.

"_Granger_?" he repeated in shock.

Ed threw his head back and started laughing again. Hermione blushed in spite of herself, self-consciously pulling her black cloak around her.

"Do I look _that _different to you?" she asked him incredulously.

"Yes!" Zabini blurted out. Hermione looked somewhat offended. "But in a _good _way! Wow, Granger! I mean... Just _look _at you!"

"Erm... Thank you." She was still _very _confused.

"Nice going, Elric!" Zabini told Ed as soon as he had calmed down enough. "She got a friend I could have?"

Before Ed could say anything in response, the now very irritated brunette girl at his side pulled at his arm and hurriedly dragged him away. Zabini grinned proudly at Ed as both he and his date vanished amidst the throng of people. Ed then took a deep, calming breath and folded his arms over his chest, still grinning cheerily.

"Man, I honestly thought I'd never really like Zabini, but I think I just had a change of heart."

"What?" Hermione looked incredulously at Ed. "But he was making a fool of himself!"

"Exactly," Ed said with a firm nod of his head. "You didn't find that funny?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Was that Zabini just now? Oh, hi Ed!"

Both Ed and Hermione turned around to face Harry, who was looking at them as though he was very desperate to separate himself from whoever was talking to him.

"Hey Harry," Ed greeted him, smiling.

"Is everything all right?" Hermione asked. She glanced meaningfully at the people behind him. "I mean..."

"Well..."

He pushed his glasses up his nose nervously, refusing to look back over his shoulder. Ed looked around Harry and noticed that several teachers had crowded nearby; Slughorn, Snape, and a lady with huge glasses that made her look like an insect. Slughorn seemed to be bragging about Harry's skill at potions to Snape, who was staring at Harry with a sneer on his face.

"Actually..."

"Remind me what other subjects you're taking, Harry?" Slughorn asked, sounding much too cheerful than he probably should have been.

Harry flinched slightly and made a face as he turned around to face the professors. Ed pulled a face as well, understanding the boy's situation perfectly. Hermione gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze, offering him a sympathetic smile.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology..."

"All the subjects, in short, for an Auror," Snape sneered.

"Yeah, well, that's what I'd like to do," said Harry defiantly, narrowing his eyes.

"And a great one you'll make too!" boomed Slughorn.

The look on Professor Snape's face grew even sourer as the two faced off. After a moment, Harry turned away, raising a goblet to his lips and taking a sip of his drink. Snape turned away as well, his dark eyes sweeping over the room as though searching for an excuse to leave the party. Ed kept switching his confused gaze between Harry and Snape, not quite sure what was going on. His eyebrows came together in confusion and he drew closer to Hermione.

"Uh... what's an auror?"

An expression of mild confusion flickered on Hermione's face as she looked at Ed. "Aurors are a group of witches and wizards who battle the Dark Arts," she explained quickly. "They've brought many of the Dark Lord's supporters to justice."

Edward nodded slowly. "So they're like... a military operation?"

Hermione looked thoughtful. "Well... in some ways, I suppose they're similar. I can't really say for sure, though."

She bit down on her lip, uncomfortably shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Ed didn't ask any more and lowered his gaze to the floor, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Though he himself was a member of the military, he wasn't sure he wanted anyone else his age to take up such dangerous work.

"I don't think you should be an Auror, Harry," said a blonde girl in silver robes that Ed hadn't noticed. Everyone turned to look at her. "The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy," she told them matter-of-factly. "I thought everyone knew that. They're working to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease."

Harry practically inhaled half of his drink in laughter. Hermione gasped in shock and patted his back soothingly as he emerged, coughing and wet, from his goblet. The blonde girl that spoke looked at Harry in confusion, as did the teachers. Ed just smiled, rather amused by the girl's blunt accusation. And, judging by the boyish grin on his wet face, Harry was too.

"Oh, sorry Ed, I should introduce you," he said, regaining his composure. Still grinning, he gestured to the blonde girl. "This is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Edward Elric."

Luna turned her dreamy, distant gaze on Ed. She smiled in his direction and bowed her head slightly. Ed wasn't sure whether or not he should do the same, but still smiled back.

"Uh, hi! Nice to meet you."

"You have golden eyes," she said abruptly.

Ed blinked. "Um... yeah, I do."

She was silent for a moment, staring at him as though she could see beyond him. "They're very pretty. Sometimes I wish my eyes were golden."

"Oh." He struggled to think of a way to respond. "That's... nice."

"Mr. Elric!"

Everyone turned at the sound of Slughorn's voice. The professor hiccupped, tipping his goblet in Ed's direction as the smile on his face continued to grow.

"I've never had the opportunity to ask you about yourself, even Dumbledore wouldn't say much apart from compliment your smarts."

Ed flinched involuntarily. This wasn't good. This situation was exactly why he'd tried to avoid contact with any professors at the party.

"Y'don't mind my asking, I hope. Care to tell us a little more about yourself, Mr. Elric?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on him. Ed shifted his weight anxiously from one leg to the other as he tried to figure out what to say. "Well, uh..."

Just then, a gangly looking man that Ed recognized as the school caretaker entered the room and quickly made his way toward Professor Slughorn. As he came closer, Ed noticed that he had Draco Malfoy in tow, dragging him across the crowded room by the ear. He drew in a sharp breath at the sight of him, his eyebrows coming together.

"Draco?"

"Professor Slughorn," the caretaker wheezed, his jowls aquiver and the maniacal light of mischief-detection in his bulging eyes, "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him an invitation?"

Draco's silver eyes passed over everyone's faces, flashing angrily when he saw Ed and Hermione. Before anyone could say anything, he quickly pulled himself free of the caretaker's grip, looking furious.

"All right, I wasn't invited!" he said angrily. "I was trying to gate-crash, happy?"

"No, I'm not!" the gangly man retorted, despite the glee on his face.

Ed rolled his eyes. _'If that's not happiness, then Hughes hates his family.'_

"You're in trouble, you are!" the caretaker went on. "Didn't the headmaster say that nighttime prowling's out, unless you've got permission, didn't he, eh?"

"That's all right, Argus, that's all right," said Slughorn, waving a hand. "It's Christmas, and it's not a crime to want to come to a party. Just this once, we'll forget any punishment; You may stay, Draco."

Malfoy turned away, an unhappy, somewhat disappointed look on his face. Ed frowned slightly, annoyed. _'I thought I told him not to do anything stupid... What the hell could he have been doing wandering around upstairs?'_

Only then did Ed notice the expression on Professor Snape's face. He was looking at Draco as though he was both angry and afraid, which was a very strange combination (especially on _his _face). The creepy caretaker frowned, obviously disappointed that he didn't get to issue any punishment to the Slytherin and immediately shuffled away, muttering under his breath. Ed watched him, relieved to see the creep leave.

"Thank you, sir," said Draco, though it was hard to tell whether or not he really was grateful. "That's very generous of you."

As Ed turned his attention back to the conversation at hand, he noticed that Draco had quickly masked his disappointment and spoke to the professor amicably, as expected of someone with his lineage. Snape also returned to normal, his expression once again unreadable.

"It's nothing, nothing," said Slughorn, waving away his thanks. "I did know your grandfather, after all..."

"He always spoke very highly of you, sir," said Malfoy quickly. "Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known..."

Ed rolled his eyes. He'd seen brown-nosing tactics of every kind before and knew well enough to expect such a thing of Draco. He turned to look at Hermione and Harry. Both wizard and witch were staring at Draco, though it was obviously not because his sucking up was particularly impressive. They both looked somewhat concerned, even a little bit nervous.

"I'd like a word with you, Draco," said Snape suddenly.

Both Ed and Harry looked surprised, their eyes growing a little bit wider. Draco shot Snape a slightly irritated look, but the professor's face remained unchanging. Slughorn hiccupped as he turned to face him, taking a sip of whatever he was drinking. Ed knew for a fact now that the Potions Master was very much drunk.

"Oh, now, Severus," he said between hiccups, "it's Christmas, don't be too hard-"

"I'm his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise, to be," said Snape curtly. He then turned back to the white-blonde before him. "Follow me, Draco."

With that, Snape led a resentful looking Malfoy away, resolutely pushing through the crowd and leaving the room. For a long moment, Ed just looked off in the direction they had left, his suspicions rising even further. It was clear that the something Draco had been up to somehow involved Snape. A professor. And not just _any _professor; one that had deep knowledge of the Dark Arts. Ed narrowed his eyes. He had to know what Draco was planning. It was his business to know.

"Luna, Hermione? I'll be back in a bit," Ed heard Harry say.

He glanced offhandedly in Harry's direction. The young wizard was slowly inching away from his friends and the other professors. Both girls turned to face him and he smiled somewhat nervously upon seeing their curious expressions.

"Er... Bathroom," he added quickly.

Luna smiled cheerfully at him. "All right," she said, then turned to the professors and continued to talk about her so-called Rotfang Conspiracy.

As Harry hurried off into the crowd, Hermione looked after him as though she wanted to follow him, but eventually changed her mind. She shook her head slowly, taking a deep breath. There was a pained, annoyed expression on her face like she had been through this routine a thousand times before and was fed up with it.

"I can't believe he still thinks..." She sighed again, exasperated. "Honestly. I get so sick of his curiosity sometimes."

"Really?" Ed's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. "Why, what does he do?"

Hermione glanced at Ed, an apprehensive glimmer in her eyes. She quickly turned away, shaking her head. "He just tends to get into trouble rather often, that's all."

Ed decided against pressing the matter. He recognized the expression on her face easily. It was, after all, the same one that Major Armstrong would get when keeping himself from talking about something that was top secret. Granted, Ed wanted to know what Hermione meant, but there was no way she was just going to casually tell him. Besides, Harry Potter was not his concern. He stole a quick glance in the direction of the door, drawing in an even breath.

"Listen," he started, leaning toward Hermione so she could hear him, "I'll be right back, okay? I just saw somebody I've been meaning to talk to."

She looked back at him, confused, then her eyes began to drift over the crowd. "Who?"

He turned around and pretended to purposefully search the crowd, then feigned annoyance upon "losing" his target. "Damn. I've gotta go find him, Hermione. I'll be right back."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows slightly, not able to find the made-up someone that Ed was talking about. "Erm... All right. I'll just be waiting here with Luna."

Ed nodded and flashed an apologetic smile before pushing his way through the crowd, cleverly weaving his way amongst the people so that it really looked like he was searching for someone. He then slipped out the door, releasing a relieved breath as he emerged in the empty corridor. Pleased to have made a clean escape, Ed grinned to himself as he headed further down the hall.

There were doors lining the entire corridor, all leading to various empty classrooms or offices. Ed crept quietly down the line, grateful that the party's loud music drowned out the sound of his unevenly weighted footsteps. He stayed close to the doors so that he would be able to hear any voices on the other side of them. As he reached the last door in the corridor, something strange happened.

He tripped.

He didn't just trip over his own feet, but he stumbled over a large something that had apparently been obstructing his way. Ed tumbled onto the floor, involuntarily making a small yelp of surprise as he did so. As he struggled to sit back up, he was suddenly grabbed by a pair of hands that had literally appeared out of nowhere and pulled under some sort of cloth. Ed almost yelled out, but the hands were set firmly over his mouth to prevent him from speaking.

"Shh," said a quiet, urgent sounding voice. "D'you want them to catch us?"

Ed blinked as he realized who it was. The hands slowly withdrew. "Harry?" he whispered.

Harry gestured for Ed to remain silent and nodded toward the door. There was a confused look behind his round glasses, like he didn't understand what Ed was doing in the corridor, but he said nothing as he resumed what he was doing.

It took a few moments for Ed to understand that they were underneath some sort of cloak that apparently made them invisible to the rest of the world. He vaguely recognized it from that first day on the train. Another strange magical item that he didn't understand. Though Ed had to admit that it was very useful as he drew closer to the door, straining his ears to catch the conversation that was going on beyond it.

"...conceal from your master, Draco?"

"I'm not trying to conceal anything from _him_, I just don't want _you _butting in!"

"So is that why you've been avoiding me this term? You have feared my interference? You realize that, had anybody else failed to come to my office when I had told them repeatedly to be there, Draco-"

"So put me in detention! Report me to Dumbledore!" jeered Malfoy.

There was another pause. "You know perfectly well that I do not wish to do either of these things."

"You'd better stop telling me to come to your office then!"

"Listen to me," said Snape, his voice barely audible. "I am trying to help you. I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco-"

"Looks like you'll have to break it, then, because I don't need your protection!"

Harry and Ed looked at one another, equally confused looks on their faces as they mouthed "unbreakable vow," the term being completely alien to them both. Harry then took on a thoughtful expression while Ed shrugged it off, turning intently back to listening to their conversation.

"It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doing it, I've got a plan and it's going to work, it's just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!"

Ed narrowed his eyes. Someone had assigned a job to Draco? Did he mean Voldemort? He couldn't stop himself from grinning shrewdly. _'Finally! Something I really need to hear!'_

"What is your plan?"

_'Yes! Tell us your plan!'_

"It's none of your business!"

Ed's face fell. _'Damn.'_

"If you tell me what you are trying to do, I can assist you-"

"I've got all the assistance I need, thanks, I'm not alone!"

"You were certainly alone tonight, which was foolish in the extreme, wandering the corridors without lookouts or backup, these are elementary mistakes-"

"I would've had Crabbe and Goyle with me if you hadn't put them in detention!"

_'So that's it,' _Ed thought. _'That's what they were supposed to do tonight. Seems like he really trusts them... Damn, I'll have to break into that trust somehow.'_

"Keep your voice down!" spat Snape, for Draco's voice had risen excitedly. "If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their DADA O.W.L. this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing at pres-"

"What does it matter?" said Malfoy. "DADA - it's all just a joke, isn't it, an act? Like any of us need protecting against the Dark Arts-"

"It is an act that is crucial to success, Draco! Where do you think I would've been all these years, if I had not known how to act?"

Ed wanted to leap up and yell victoriously. He knew from the beginning that this Snape character was a prime suspect!

"Now listen to me! You are being incautious, wandering around at night, getting yourself caught, and if you are placing your reliance in assistants like Crabbe and Goyle-"

"They're not the only ones, I've got other people on my side, better people!"

"Then why not confide in me, and I can-"

"I know what you're up to! You want to steal my glory!"

Another pause. Then coldly, "You are speaking like a child. I quite understand that your father's capture and imprisonment has upset you, but-"

Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps, growing louder and louder... The realization hit both Harry and Ed practically at the same time and they scrambled away from the door, Harry taking care that no part of them was exposed from under the cloak. The door suddenly flew open and Draco stormed out of the room. Both boys watched as Malfoy strode down the corridor, passing the open door of Slughorn's room and out of sight. Professor Snape slowly emerged a few moments later, an unfathomable look on his face as he returned to the party.

Once everything was quiet again, Harry and Ed quietly got to their feet, removing the cloak. As Harry started to put it away, Ed found himself staring at the cloak, both fascinated and frustrated by its magical properties.

"I have _got _to get one of those," he said, mostly to himself.

Harry smiled nervously. "It _is _rather useful..."

"No kidding!" Ed grinned. "If I had one of those..." He trailed off, his gold eyes taking on a mischievous glaze as he thought of all the tricks that cloak could make possible.

"What do you reckon that was all about?"

Ed's smile faded slightly as he glanced back at Harry. "You mean Snape and Draco?" He snorted. "Geez, damned if I know."

Harry seemed confused. "Aren't you guys close or something? I thought you would have at least some kind of idea what's going on."

He hesitated before answering. "Well... I wouldn't say we're _close_..."

"I think it's right to assume you wouldn't know what an 'unbreakable vow' is, right?"

"Not a clue." Ed looked at Harry. "You?"

The wizard shook his head. "Never heard of it. Maybe I should ask Hermione."

Ed just nodded thoughtfully. He would have to ask someone as well. Hermione was no longer an option; it would be strange if they both asked her the same question. The headmaster was a likely candidate. He would no doubt know the answer as well. Then again, Ed could always find out himself; it had to be in a book somewhere.

"We should head back, Ed," said Harry, glancing anxiously down the hall. "Wouldn't want Filch to catch us in the corridors."

"Huh? Oh... yeah. Right."

They then hurried back to Slughorn's room to rejoin the party. Ed's pace had slowed down significantly as he found himself lost in his own thoughts. As soon as Harry reached the entrance to the party, someone yelled out his name and he was pulled back into the party, swallowed by the thick crowd of guests. Ed half-smiled, still mostly distracted. There were so many questions burning his mind all of a sudden, and only one person could answer them. He looked down the hallway in the direction that Draco had stormed away.

He hurried down the hall, hoping to catch up with Draco before he got to the Slytherin common room. Ed found him trudging slowly down the hall on the second floor, right outside of what looked like a bathroom. He hesitated when he saw him, wondering briefly whether or not this was a good idea, but quickly pushed the doubt aside and hurried to join him.

_'Be friendly. Be friendly!' _"Hey, Malfoy! Wait up!"

But Draco didn't stop walking. He just looked back over his shoulder at the sound of Ed's voice and glared at him. "What is it with you and appearing suddenly all over the place? What the hell are you doing here?"

He was still too far away for Draco to notice Ed narrowing his eyes at him. Ed then took in a deep, calming breath, forcing himself to be friendly. "I just wanted to know what Snape wanted with you, that's all."

As Ed finally caught up with him, Malfoy stopped walking and turned to face Ed. "Well, it's none of your damn business!" he yelled into Ed's face, his silver eyes aflame with hatred.

The Slytherin then resumed walking, this time faster and with longer strides. Ed just persisted, increasing his pace to keep up.

"Sheesh, you don't have to get all worked up over it. I just thought-"

Suddenly, Draco spun around and grabbed Ed by his shoulders, cutting him off before he could finish speaking. For a moment Ed was panic stricken about his auto-mail, but Draco was clearly too furious to notice anything strange.

"WHY, ELRIC? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO ASK GRANGER TO THE FUCKING PARTY?"

He then shoved Ed away from him roughly and turned to face a wall, running his hands over his hair in frustration. Ed's eyebrows came together in annoyance. Was Draco putting blame on him for no apparent reason? He balled his hands into fists. Here he was, trying to be friendly to the guy for once, only to get yelled at for nothing.

"What're you-"

"Why did you have to ask_ the one person _I despise _most _in the world?" he shouted, cutting him off again.

"Hey, _listen_! I-"

"You really don't get it, do you? When I said 'keep your hands off her,' I meant it! You don't deserve her! You just..."

Draco floundered for a moment as he abruptly stopped himself mid-sentence. Ed narrowed his eyes angrily, folding his arms indignantly over his chest.

"I just what?" he challenged.

The Slytherin gritted his teeth together as he turned away. "I saw you waiting for her," he continued loudly, switching gears, "and when she came down looking so... so bloody _gorgeous_ - and knowing she did that just for _you_ - IT WAS EATING ME UP INSIDE!" He ruffled up his white-blonde hair, growling angrily. "I... I _HATE_ HERMIONE GRANGER! I ABSOLUTELY CAN'T _STAND _HER! And what makes me hate her even _more _is... _Merlin_, SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE HELL SHE _DOES _TO ME!"

A victorious feeling began to swell up in Ed's chest. He knew from the beginning that asking Hermione would get something out of Draco. But at the same time, he was completely taken aback by the outburst. He hadn't been expecting anything like this. He wanted to speak, to just _say _something, but couldn't think of a single sensible thing. And even if he could, Draco was on such a heated rant that Ed wouldn't have been able to get in a word.

"Every time I feel her nearby, I can't act naturally! Every time she looks at me with pure hatred, I... I'M IN BLOODY AGONY! I CAN'T BREATHE! Every night, sleep refuses to overtake me because _she's there_, constantly plaguing my thoughts! EVERY SECOND OF EVERY SINGLE DAY! Bloody hell, _I can't stop thinking about her_!" He turned back on Ed, jabbing his finger accusingly into his chest. "And that is _why_, Elric, you have no _bloody _idea what you've gotten yourself into!"

Draco then pushed Ed back again and turned around, falling silent. Some small part of Ed wanted to smile knowingly, but he was just too shocked. He almost felt sorry for him. He lowered his gaze to the floor, taking a deep breath.

"I didn't..."

Before he could finish, Malfoy cut him off once again, but this time his voice was painfully soft and dangerously low. Still with his back turned, he said, "Go back to the party, Elric. I'm assuming Zabini's too far gone, but Granger would be waiting for you. It'd be rude to just leave her. Walk her back to Gryffindor Tower, Elric. It's the least you could do."

Then Draco walked off, disappearing into the darkness down the corridor and leaving Ed behind in amazed silence. He really did feel bad. He hadn't realized how strongly Draco felt about Hermione.

* * *

"Ed!" he heard Harry shout brightly. "Where've you been?" 

The young alchemist squeezed his eyes shut. He had to put on a good front for the Gryffindors. He then raised his head, plastering a cheerful, carefree smile on his face as he rejoined Harry and the others.

"I just got a little held up," he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow, raising a goblet to his lips. "Held up with what? Last time I looked, you were right behind me on our way back here."

Ed just shrugged casually, rolling his eyes as though it was a boring story he didn't care to tell, but Harry didn't look swayed. He ignored the inquisitive look in Harry's eyes and looked around. The girls were off to the side, talking about something amongst themselves. It seemed like Slughorn and the professor with the glasses had long since wandered off, much to Harry's evident relief. Ed then quickly surveyed the room as best as he could (since he couldn't exactly see over everyone's heads), his brow furrowed.

"Where'd Snape go?"

"I'm not sure," Harry replied. "I reckon he's around here somewhere, but I haven't seen him since..."

He looked meaningfully at Ed, who just nodded. His mind was completely preoccupied with what he had just learned from Draco's outburst. Ed had never seen him so angry, and to be perfectly honest, it was somewhat frightening. It was almost as though all of his barriers and shields had crumbled apart and gave way to a few moments of sheer honesty. A whole new side of him had suddenly shone through. It was confusing.

If Edward thought he understood what the situation in the wizarding world was like before, he had just been proven wrong. There was something beyond what he could see... A truth behind all truths... Suddenly Ed found himself decoding another complex message. Draco's outburst had been the first step to understanding what was _really _going on, not just in terms of the situation with Voldemort, but with the societal structure of the wizarding world.

But... But _what_?

Ed shut his eyes and released a heavy, exhausted sigh. This whole thing was getting more and more complicated.

"So exactly where were you?"

Harry again. Some part of Ed's brain vaguely registered that Harry had been pestering him for the past few minutes, but he hadn't noticed at all. He looked into Harry's face, blinking innocently.

"I was just out on the balcony."

It was clear by the skeptical look on his face that Harry still wasn't convinced. "Out on the balcony? For a good half hour? At _this _time of night?"

Ed shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Um... Yeah... Just needed some fresh air, with all the pipe smoke in here..."

He then quickly wormed away from Harry before he could ask him any more questions and approached Hermione, who was talking animatedly with Luna about the differences between Arithmancy and Divination. Ed had to smile slightly at the topic as he laid one hand carefully on Hermione's shoulder. The brunette spun around to look at him and smiled.

"Oh, you're back! Did you get to talk to that person you were looking for? How did it go?"

His smile grew slightly, though it was somewhat wistful. "Let's just say I got a lot more than I bargained for." Ed then sighed again, ignoring the confused look on Hermione's face. "Do you wanna head back? I'm kinda tired."

Hermione let out a relieved breath. "You've just read my mind," she said.

She then quickly said goodbye to Luna and told Harry that she'd see him later as they made their way out of the party. Ed could see that Harry looked like he was still itching to ask him more questions, but their rather hurried departure kept him at bay.

"I'll walk you back to Gryffindor Tower," Ed said, remembering what Malfoy had told him. His mind was still wrapped around some of the things that he said, searching for some sort of clue or hidden meaning, trying to find out what was really going on in his mind.

Hermione looked surprised. "Oh! No, you don't have to do that."

"Hey, it's the least I can do," he told her, half-smiling.

Touched by the offer, Hermione smiled back at him and nodded her head in acceptance. From then on they walked down the corridors in silence, Ed still lost in his thoughts. Hermione didn't seem to mind the silence very much, though she did cast a few curious glances in his direction. He caught one of them once and just smiled back, unable to think of anything to say to her.

Then suddenly, his thoughts turned to what Hermione had told him on their way to the party. All the things that she said about how Draco seemed like a different person all of a sudden, about his horrible father... Lucius Malfoy, a Death Eater, a servant of Voldemort, who had just recently been captured. Was there a link there? Draco mentioned a job that had been assigned to him by his "master"... Ed groaned inwardly. Why was everything in his life given to him in code?

They stopped as they reached the portrait leading into the tower. Ed snapped out of his thoughtful reverie, giving the fat lady in the portrait a strange look which she returned in full force.

"Well, we're here."

"Thanks, Edward," Hermione said. "You really didn't have to walk me all the way here."

Ed rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I feel kinda bad for not getting to be around you as much as I probably should've been tonight, so..."

The Gryffindor just smiled. "That's all right. I had fun! Believe me, it was _far _more bearable with you around. At least you didn't talk about Quidditch!"

They both laughed softly at that, only to have it stop abruptly when Hermione gave Ed a friendly kiss on the cheek. Practically his entire head immediately flushed red and he froze, his gold eyes wide in surprise. Hermione smiled warmly and moved toward the portrait to say the password, which Ed was too stunned to hear.

She kissed him. Sure it was on the cheek, but... when was the last time something like _this _happened to him?

"Goodnight," Hermione said, still smiling.

Not since his mother... but did she even count?

"Edward, are you alright?"

He jumped slightly in place, finally snapping out of his shocked paralysis, his face still red. "Oh! Yeah! G-Goodnight!"

Hermione looked a little puzzled, but still smiled as she turned to enter the portrait hole. As he watched her, Ed was suddenly struck with a realization.

"By the way... Hermione..."

The girl stopped at the portal and looked back at Ed. "Mm hmm?"

His mind had been churning over everything that had happened that night. He learned a lot about Draco - more than he had even hoped for. He saw a completely different side of Draco, one that probably wouldn't have existed if it weren't for the girl that was standing just a few feet away. She tucked some loose hair behind her ear, looking at Ed inquisitively. Ed smiled at her.

"You know, for someone who claims not to know him very well, you seem to understand Draco perfectly."

She looked somewhat surprised, her eyes growing wide as she absorbed Ed's words. Then she lowered her gaze thoughtfully and said, "I hope you're right."

Hermione then entered the portrait hole and the painting of the fat lady swung shut behind her. Ed turned around and started the trek back to the Slytherin common room. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and drew in a long, deep breath. The situation had just gotten even more complicated and difficult than he thought it would. He wasn't so sure he wanted to be involved in it anymore.

* * *

**Author's Note:** (glares at Hermione out of sheer jealousy) well, it's only a friendly kiss. it doesn't mean anything. 

bwahaha, OH the pairings! it's shameless in this chapter, isn't it? XD i love it! and if you don't love it, too, then i'm afraid you're just going to have to deal with it, because dammit, i like Draco and Hermione! once again, thanks to MJade-1 (oh, and J.K. Rowling, of course) for Draco's dialogue in this chapter. :P


	15. Winter Break

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP release and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa _or _J.K. Rowling overnight.

**Author's Note: **sorry that this took a little longer than usual. but it's up, and that's always a good thing:D

LOL! yes, i'm a Draco/Hermione shipper. :P that pairing is actually what got me into Harry Potter. Draco is just such a fascinating character! he's like Riku! XD which is why the one of the first things that popped into my mind while reading all those FMA/HP crossovers was "there's not enough Draco!" :P so i think everyone should be grateful for that, otherwise this story wouldn't exist. :D

**

* * *

Chapter 15**  
**Winter Break**

_Dear Nii-san, _

_If I remember correctly, you had your date with Hermione Granger last night, right? I hope it went well and that you didn't do anything rude to her. But do you like her, nii-san? Will I ever get to meet her? I think I have a right to, especially since you never seem to know what's good for you. Don't worry, I haven't told Winry or anything. Haha!_

_All joking aside, I do want to hear about what happened at the Christmas Party. I'm sorry for teasing you about her so much. I guess you could say that I've been excited for you ever since you told me about it. We don't get to spend a whole lot of time with other teenagers since we're always traveling and are so busy all the time. So I hope you're enjoying yourself over there!_

_I've been trying to convince Lt. Hawkeye to let me go visit you and I think I've almost won her over. She said that according to the calendar she has, you're starting vacation already. Is that true, nii-san? If so, then maybe I'll get to go visit you soon! I'll let you know as soon as I'm sure. I want to know all about the magic you've been learning. It sounds interesting!_

_Oh, and I know that you've been asked this a lot already, but... any word from the colonel? I know you don't care, but Lt. Hawkeye seems really worried about him._

_Well then, I hope to see you soon, nii-san! And when it happens, let me know how your second date with Hermione goes._

_Take care of yourself!  
Love, Al_

"Man, did you _see _Granger last night? Oh, if you had only _seen _the way she looked! She looked bloody _amazing_! I didn't even recognize her at first!"

Zabini shook his head slowly, smiling at the memory as he stuffed more of his clothes into a suitcase. The Crabbe/Goyles exchanged confused looks as they listened to him rant about Slughorn's party while packing up their things. Draco seemed to be ignoring him, lying stretched out on his four poster bed with his eyes shut. Edward was quiet as well, distracted by the letter he had received that morning during breakfast, a faint blush on his cheeks and an annoyed look on his face.

Everyone was preparing to leave Hogwarts for their vacation, since the train would be leaving for London in a little less than an hour. Only Ed and Draco weren't packing yet; Draco had long since decided he would leave the school grounds when he wanted to and on his own terms, and Ed had no idea what he was going to be doing. He hadn't received any instructions on the matter yet, but was definitely hoping to go back to Amestris. If Alphonse wanted to hear all about what had been happening, Ed figured it was better done in person. Besides, he missed his kid brother.

"I think even Malfoy's jaw would've dropped at the sight of her!" Zabini continued. The comment immediately irked Draco as a scowl appeared on his face. "It was like... Like the bloody Yule Ball, all over again! _Damn _Elric, you're my _fucking hero_! She really does have quite a figure! Hell, I wish _I _was the one to cop a feel!"

This seemed to make Draco even angrier, but he held it in. Zabini hadn't noticed anything, being so busy preparing his things to leave.

"I did _not _try to feel her up!" Ed shouted indignantly as he put Al's letter away.

"Oh, come on, Elric!" Zabini said with a playful smirk. "You realize you've got boasting rights. Got anything to say apart from 'I'm a lucky bastard?'"

Draco clenched his teeth and reached for his wand, preparing to hex someone if they stepped a fraction of an inch out of line. Ed was just annoyed by Zabini's ranting.

"How 'bout this?" he growled, picking up one of his books. "Shut the hell _up_."

The grin on Zabini's face just grew as he snapped his suitcase shut. Ed glanced over at him and frowned. He wanted to transmute Zabini's shoes into the floor, or the floor around his body, or his clothes over his head. Maybe he would, for good measure.

The Crabbe/Goyles were confused. "I thought that we're supposed to hate Gryffindors and Mudbloods."

"Ah, but that was _before_," said Zabini, wagging his finger in the air. "Elric has opened the door, launched us into a world of foxy Gryffindor girls! It's time to explore this overlooked realm!" He suddenly grinned fiendishly. "And if their asses are anything like Granger's, I wouldn't mind having a taste!"

Ed immediately threw the book he was holding at Zabini, grinning slightly when it hit him square in the head (unfortunately, it was one of Ed's thinner books). At almost the same time, Draco grabbed his wand and raised Zabini up into the air, pressing him against the ceiling. Though extremely shocked and in some pain, Zabini erupted into boisterous laughter.

"Touchy little wankers, are we?"

"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!" Ed yelled, waving his fist.

"Just keep your bloody mouth shut," Draco barked out gruffly.

One of the Crabbe/Goyles stared up at Zabini, impressed. "Wow, you're really gettin' good at those non-verbal spells, huh, Malfoy?"

"And there's more where that came from," Draco grunted.

Zabini smiled slightly. "All right, I got it. So you mind letting me down already?"

"I'll let you down when I feel like it."

Crabbe and Goyle both laughed, ignoring the annoyed look on their friend's face. Ed pulled out his wand and cast _accio _on the book he had thrown, catching it deftly in one hand as it came back to him. He leafed through the pages quickly before putting it down and picking up his research notebook. One of the Crabbe/Goyles looked over at Ed, pushing down on the lid of his heavily packed suitcase.

"Hey Elric," he called, "what are you doing for the break?"

Ed lowered his notebook slightly to look pointedly at the one that had spoken. "That's gotta be the thousandth time you guys've asked me that." Crabbe/Goyle shrugged helplessly as Ed took a deep, exasperated breath. "I'm not sure yet, but I'll probably be heading home. I'm just waiting to hear from my school's administration."

He had repeated those same sentences so often by now that he sounded like a machine when he said them. Crabbe/Goyle just nodded in understanding, but Ed was almost positive that he was going to forget again after a few more minutes. Then suddenly, as though on cue, an owl appeared at one of windows of the dorm, tapping eagerly at the glass. This came as no small shock to Ed, considering that the dorms were beneath the lake, and just beyond what he had believed to be air-tight glass was water. Even so, there was somehow an owl behind that glass, rapping on the window.

Apparently, the other Slytherins had seen this before. One of the Crabbe/Goyles went to the window and unlatched it, in spite of the surprised, horrified expression across Ed's face. And instead of pouring out into the room and engulfing everyone inside, the lake water stayed firmly in place. Only the owl entered the room, looking as though it hadn't just been underwater.

"What's wrong, Elric?" asked the other Crabbe/Goyle.

Ed just opened and shut his mouth, unable to voice himself. _'What's wrong? An owl was just flying around underwater! The water isn't spilling in through the window and... AT LEAST THREE LAWS OF PHYSICS WERE JUST BROKEN! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!'_

Draco looked at the owl curiously. "That looks like one of Mother's owls... Who's it for?"

Before Crabbe/Goyle could reply, the owl hopped across the floor and fluttered up onto the end of Ed's bed. For a moment, the golden-eyed boy could only stare at the owl in disbelief. He had definitely never seen this owl before, and even more confusing was the letter the bird was holding and the Amestrian military seal that could be found on it. The other Slytherin boys looked at Ed in surprise.

"For _Elric_?" they all said in unison.

Suddenly everyone was talking, beside themselves with shock and curiosity. Ed just ignored them and reached for the letter, untying it from the owl's leg and allowing it to leave (back out the window, which Ed had to admit he was worried about). He quickly fished the note out of the envelope and read its contents.

_Fullmetal - _

_You are to spend your vacation with Draco for now.  
We will see to retrieving you from the Malfoy estate within the next few days, pending your arrival.  
You'd better be doing your job. That is all._

_- Roy Mustang_

Ed growled in annoyance. Somehow, he had expected to hear something like this. He was sure that this wasn't going to sit well with his charge. But at least it sounded like they may be taking him home. He missed everyone and was pretty excited to get to see them again. He even missed Hughes and his endless supply of Elysia photos (though he wasn't sure he could say the same for Major Armstrong). As he quickly read through the letter again, Ed realized that Mustang hadn't told him where he was, even though he had asked him quite directly at the end of his last report. He muttered something about incompetent soldiers as he unceremoniously chucked the letter onto his bedside table.

Suddenly, Ed was very aware of the chorus of voices that came from his roommates.

"What's it say?"

"Something happening?"

"Who's it from?"

"Don't leave us in the dark, Elric!"

The state alchemist just sighed in exasperation. "It's from my school. They say to leave with Draco to his place and they'll pick me up from there."

"WHAT? _WHY_?"

The rage was obvious on Draco's face and took over his mind so completely that the _leviosa _charm he had cast on Zabini was involuntarily released, allowing the boy to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Ed looked over at Draco and shrugged.

"Probably because they don't know of anywhere else," he said flatly.

"There's the bloody train station!" Malfoy yelled. "Why don't they get you _there_?"

"Look," Ed snapped, turning around, "if it were up to me, then I _would _be getting picked up from there, but y'know what? It's _not _up to me, so we're just gonna have to deal with their damn orders no matter how much they suck!"

Seeing the logic in Ed's words, Draco turned away quickly and shut his silver eyes. "Damn," he grumbled. "I already owled Mother saying I'd leave on Monday..."

"So then you leave on Monday," Zabini said with a shrug, having picked himself up off the floor. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is that I was expecting to be here _by myself_. Not with _Elric _hanging around."

Ed narrowed his eyes at Malfoy, struggling to keep himself quiet. He wanted to snap back at him, but he couldn't allow the situation to get any worse.

"It'll just be the weekend," Crabbe/Goyle said encouragingly. "Today and tomorrow. You can stick it out."

Malfoy grunted angrily, saying something about not being able to get anything done under his breath. Ed just rolled his eyes and settled back into his bed, grabbing his notebook again.

"If it bothers you that much," Zabini added, "there should be another train leaving later this afternoon."

"Right," Draco mumbled, lying back onto his bed.

Zabini smiled proudly, looking at his closed suitcase as though it were a prize winning project he'd been working on for weeks. He then turned to Crabbe and Goyle, who were also finished packing and sat obediently on their beds.

"You lot ready to go?" Zabini asked them, grabbing the clutch of his suitcase.

"Yep," Crabbe and Goyle answered in unison, simultaneously getting up and grabbing their bags. Ed rolled his eyes again as he watched them, convinced that they could easily be twins.

"I guess we'll see you lot when we get back, eh?" said Zabini, turning back to Ed and Draco. "So... Happy Christmas and all that."

Draco nodded absent-mindedly, reaching for the latest bag of snacks that his mother sent him and popping one into his mouth. Ed just shrugged his shoulders, not exactly accustomed to the celebration of Christmas. Then the three boys left, slipping out the door with one final word of goodbye. As the door shut behind them, the room immediately descended into a tomblike silence, the two Slytherins stretched out on their beds.

They remained in silence for a long time, neither of them really moving from their beds. Draco occasionally looked over at Ed expectantly, as though he were waiting for Ed to leave, but the alchemist was completely absorbed in his books and notes. By the time Ed pulled himself away from the texts, Draco had fallen asleep. He glanced over at Draco's slumbering body and frowned. He was in big trouble with this kid, and he had to get out of it somehow. The only good thing that came out of Draco's moody silence was the opportunity it gave Ed to think.

His search for the Philosopher's Stone didn't seem to be getting anywhere (it was all the same stuff being repeated over and over again), but he felt like he was finally starting to understand magic. So far, he had figured out that the words and wand movements were equal to a transmutation circle; the equations and calculations were somehow infused within each, giving the spell direction and shape. His suspicion was that the equivalent exchange of magic was varying amounts of the wielder's energy, possibly depending on the complexity of the spell. He wasn't entirely sure about the last part yet (it was what he spent the better part of his time figuring out), but that was his theory and it sure made a lot of sense to him.

Ed pulled away from his notes and books, cupping his chin thoughtfully in his hands. _'Can I somehow use this to make a Philosopher's Stone? But... how much energy would I need? How much would be equivalent to possibly dozens of human lives?'_

He shook his head, deciding to save that thought for another time. Only then did Ed shut his books and start to put them away, moving over to his trunk. As he shoved the books and materials that inhabited the thing to make room, he stumbled across his auto-mail kit. He blinked in surprise. Now that he thought about it, Ed hadn't really been able to give his auto-mail a decent run down in a long time. The most he ever had time to do was polish it and make sure it didn't rust. Deciding now was as good a time as any, he pulled out the kit and made his way to the bathroom to give his auto-mail a quick check-up.

* * *

When he came back to the dorm Ed half-expected to find Malfoy missing again, but was surprised to see that he was still in the room. He was also surprised that Draco was packing his things and preparing to leave. Ed slowly entered the room, a confused look on his face. 

"What're you doing?"

"Packing," Draco answered gruffly. "What's it look like?"

"That's not what I was asking," Ed grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"We're taking the next train out of here, got it?"

He hesitated. "Uh... Sure, but... Why?"

Draco pressed his clothes roughly into the suitcase, flattening them. "Because I don't want to be stuck here with _you _for another few days."

Ed fell silent, still standing near the doorway. He stared blankly at Draco's suitcase. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do about building some sort of friendship with him. It was just Ed's luck that he'd realize how much he was going to need Draco's trust to fulfill his mission duties when it was too late. But how could he have known how Draco felt about Hermione? Chalk up one more reason to hate dating: _way _too complicated.

Without a word Ed walked over to his bed and grabbed his own suitcase, plopping it down on top the mattress. He inserted the auto-mail kit first since it was still in his hands and then went to his trunk to see what else he would need. He grabbed a few sets of his usual clothes (he had transmuted several during his stay), his sleeping clothes, a few books, and his research notebook.

"What about your mom?" Ed asked at length. "Isn't she expecting you on Monday?"

"It'll be fine," muttered Draco. "She's probably secretly hoping I come home early anyway."

They were quiet again as Ed shut his case. He stared at the clutch for a moment, dimly realizing that he didn't need much of anything at all, and then wandered back to his trunk to fix it up. He wondered whether or not he should apologize to Draco about asking Hermione out, but... was that really his fault? He mulled over the events of the previous night, pieces of Al's letter echoing in his mind.

_"Do you like her, nii-san?"_

Edward himself wasn't entirely sure of the answer to that question. He had asked her to go as part of his mission and the real purpose of the date had been information-gathering. He hadn't been banking on Hermione dressing up so nicely for the party... and now it was clear that Draco was crazy about her. How was he to get himself out of _this _mess?

"About Hermione..."

He had spoken without really thinking and immediately regretted it. There was a loud thud and snap as Draco roughly shut his suitcase.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it." He then stomped toward the door, his suitcase in hand. "Hurry up, Elric. That's an order," he jeered, then flung the door open and left.

Ed narrowed his amber-gold eyes as Draco vanished beyond the door. He clapped his hands and laid them on top of the trunk, using alchemy to fuse the lid to the body so that no one would ever be able to open it without breaking it. Then, pulling on his red coat, Ed got to his feet, grabbed his suitcase, and followed Draco out.

"This is gonna be one long train ride..."

* * *

And he was right. It was a very awkward train ride that afternoon. Draco had wanted to be in two separate compartments, but the afternoon train was surprisingly full and they ended up sharing one. They were lying stretched out on opposite benches, facing in opposite directions. The past few hours had been spent in complete silence, though neither boy went to sleep. They merely stared straight ahead of them, blank expressions on both their faces. 

Ed stared out the window, watching the rolling scenery whiz by as the sky began to turn a deep orange color. His mind swam, trying to formulate some kind of plan to get Draco's trust, or even just to get on his good side. But it seemed like everything boiled back down to what he'd said about Hermione and how he felt about her. Which meant that Ed was going to have to apologize for going with her to the party, even if he thought it wasn't really his fault. Ed stole a quick glance at Draco's face and sighed in exasperation. It was about time to clear the air.

"Look," he said abruptly. "I didn't know you felt that way about her."

An annoyed expression flickered over Draco's face. "Felt what way, exactly?" he muttered darkly. "Frankly, Elric, you shouldn't be talking about things you know nothing about."

The alchemist narrowed his eyes. "Well, I know one thing."

"Oh, and what's that?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"That you've got some unresolved issues with Hermione."

The Malfoy heir snorted. "I have no _issues _with Granger, unresolved or what, thank you very much. I hate Potter, I hate Weasley, I hate her. End of story."

Ed rolled his eyes, getting frustrated by Draco's stubbornness. He sat upright, swinging his legs back over the bench so that he was facing him.

"Malfoy, you've got nothing to lose. Just tell her."

Draco turned his silver eyes on Edward angrily. "Tell her _what_? That I'm sick of the sight of her? That her laughter makes my insides crawl? That she's slowly _killing me_?"

For some reason, Ed's mood picked right up. He smiled smugly, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back into the seat.

"It's a start."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Listen closely, Elric. I don't want to hear another word about Granger out of you. Actually, I don't want to hear another _anything _out of you for the remainder of the trip. So do both of us a favor and just _shut the bloody hell up_!"

He then rolled onto his side so Ed couldn't see his face with an irritated grunt. Ed just looked at him, fuming silently. Obviously, apologizing to Draco was a lost cause. He was in denial, probably because of the supposed Mudblood-pureblood enmity and his social status, which were both very stupid reasons in Ed's opinion. There had to be some way to show these people how idiotic they were being. On the other hand, Ed could always just get away from them all. He then made his mind up right there: he would quit this stupid, complex mission as soon as he could. He was sure he would be allowed to continue researching magic, though. It was, after all, a whole new lead on the Philosopher's Stone.

The rest of the train ride to King's Cross Station was silent, just as Draco had demanded. Ed conceded to allow his mind to drift over his research until the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station and everyone disembarked. Both boys retrieved their things and Ed silently followed Draco to Diagon Alley. There were a few times that the Slytherin tried to lose him in the crowd, but Ed persisted. Even though he had every intention to quit the mission, losing sight of Draco would be a problem: how would he get back to headquarters?

They eventually reached some sort of pub/inn called the Leaky Cauldron, which was apparently their destination. Once there, Draco dutifully marched toward the fireplace, not sparing a glance in either direction as though he really didn't want to be there. He then pulled out a bag of green powder and grabbed a handful. He wordlessly shoved the bag into Ed's hands, obviously meaning for him to do the same. He then took a deep breath and shouted, in a very clear and distinct voice, "Malfoy Manor" and simultaneously thrust the green powder into the fireplace. Ed watched, jumping slightly in surprise, as green flames suddenly spouted from the fireplace and swallowed Draco whole.

"You gotta be kidding me," he muttered, uneasily realizing that he was to do the same.

After a moment of mentally debating with himself, Ed stepped up, reached into the bag, and grabbed a handful of the green powder. Then, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping for the best, imitated Draco's actions.

He was partially amazed by what happened when the emerald fire consumed him. Everything began to spin very fast, allowing Ed only blurred glimpses of what he assumed were potential stops. After a while he began to slow down and soon found himself stopped in the fireplace of what seemed to be the living room of Malfoy Manor. It was hard to tell, since the room was so dark. Ed knew that Draco was standing next to him, just as bewildered by the appearance of their destination. They looked around cautiously, not sure whether or not they had ended up in the right place. Ed took a careful step forward and out of the fireplace.

The room wasn't completely darkened; there were candles lit all around the room. Some of them were floating in the air, others just on tables and shelves. Ed could have sworn several of them were scented and what was even stranger was that they were all scents that were... well, almost erotic.

Draco stepped out from the fireplace as well, wrinkling his nose. Then, quickly and without much warning, he pulled out his wand and said, "_Lumos Maxima_."

Everything was instantly lit up and both Draco and Ed received the assurance that they had indeed arrived in Malfoy Manor. But neither one of them could have expected, much less be prepared for, the scene that was unfolding in front of them. Their eyes practically bulged out of their heads in shock and their jaws visibly dropped open.

Lying sprawled out on the couch with their arms wrapped about one another in a passionate embrace were Narcissa Malfoy and Roy Mustang. They had yet to notice the two boys standing, shocked and awestruck, in front of the fireplace, and continued their make out session for a few more moments in blissful ignorance. Or at least they _would _have continued, if it weren't for one very angry, very traumatized son.

"G-GET THE _HELL _OFF OF HER!" Draco roared in fury.

The faces of both adults flushed red as they realized they'd been caught. At once they sprang apart from one another and attempted to fix their appearances, trying to make themselves look distinguished and disguise the fact that they had just been passionately making out. Narcissa quickly ran her hands through her disheveled hair, trying desperately to tame it as Roy hastily redid the buttons of his top.

"Draco!" Lady Malfoy spluttered. "Darling! Wha-What are you doing home so early? I thought you said you would be coming home on Monday!"

"What the _bloody hell _is going on around here?" yelled Draco, not listening. "Why the hell were you two _snogging _in the bloody _living room_?"

Before she could get another word out, Draco spun around to face the colonel, pointing his wand straight into his face.

"And _YOU_," he growled. Roy remained silent and just stared coolly into the boy's eyes. "Get out of my sight before I turn you into a ferret."

The colonel gave a small smirk and slowly got to his feet without argument. His gaze hardened when he turned to look at Ed, who was looking back at him with a mischievous smirk on his face and trying very hard not to laugh. Roy narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Edward," he said evenly. "It's good to see you. I half expected to find you in even smaller pieces than usual."

Ed folded his arms over his chest, his smirk slowly giving way to a grin. The "small" comment irritated him slightly, but he would let it slide this time. He had just gotten hold of some grade A blackmail material. And also, the comment was weak. A small, amused chuckle escaped from his lips.

"I didn't expect to find you here at all, Mustang." Suddenly, he couldn't hold it any longer. All at once, Ed found himself laughing hysterically, his hands on his stomach. "You really _are _a dirty bastard!"

Roy clenched his teeth in annoyance as Ed laughed his head off. It was nice to be able to wipe the arrogant smirk off the colonel's face. Meanwhile, Draco had turned back to his mother and was yelling about betrayal and being around despicable characters like Roy Mustang. Both state alchemists watched the rather one-sided argument for a few moments, Ed still laughing and very much amused by the entire situation. He couldn't help but hope that Draco would hex Mustang into oblivion soon.

"Fullmetal," called Mustang sternly, making Ed look back at him. "Come with me."

As Ed finally started to settle down, the colonel silently led him into a separate room. They entered what appeared to be some sort of den or office that had a large desk and several bookshelves lining the walls. Above the desk was a large portrait of Lucius Malfoy and it seemed very clear that this was where he used to work. As Mustang shut the door, Ed seated himself comfortably in one of the chairs in front of the desk. He let out a low, impressed whistle as he looked around.

"So I guess you've claimed all of Lucius' stuff for your own," he said mockingly. He then gave Roy a meaningful look. "Including his wife."

Colonel Mustang glared at Ed. "Fullmetal."

"How long have you guys been at it? Would... four months be a fair guess?"

"Fullmetal."

"Man, I feel sorry for Lt. Hawkeye! To think she was actually _worried _about you."

"Fullmetal."

"So is this just a fling? Or are you planning on actually taking this relationship somewhere?"

The colonel twitched. "_Fullmetal_."

"What? I think everyone has a right to know the truth, colonel."

"That's _enough_, Fullmetal," Roy growled, reaching the limit of his patience. "I want to hear a full status report on your mission."

Ed grinned, finally allowing the subject to drop. There would be plenty of time to make fun of the colonel later, after all. He then leaned back into his chair and thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully before speaking.

"Draco Malfoy is _definitely _linked to Voldemort," he said evenly. "He's on some kind of special assignment that the guy personally gave him. Professor Severus Snape seems to want in on it - oh yeah, could you get someone to run a background check on that guy? Anyway, he was offering Draco help. Said something about... an 'unbreakable vow' he'd made with Narcissa, or something like that. You wouldn't happen to know what that is, would you?"

Roy furrowed his brow thoughtfully, his dark eyes lowered to the desk. "Can't say that I have. You didn't look it up before coming here?"

"Didn't have the chance," Ed replied with a slow shake of his head. "But I plan to."

The colonel nodded. "Good. Is there anything else of note?"

Ed was quiet for a moment, considering what else might concern the colonel and the goals of his mission. "Had some problems with Draco. He kept disappearing somewhere, probably something to do with his assignment, and I couldn't find him anywhere. It was like he would literally vanish into thin air. He doesn't trust me at all and I can't get anything out of him unless he does." Ed groaned and scratched his head in frustration. "And after last night, that's gonna be near impossible..."

"Oh?" Mustang's eyebrows arched upward in affected surprise. "What happened last night?"

"Professor Slughorn's Christmas party." Ed blushed slightly. "I, uh... apparently asked the girl of his dreams to go with me." An amused smirk had suddenly crept onto Roy's face, at which Ed scowled. "I was just trying to get info on Draco, okay? I think she was definitely the right person to pick, but now Draco's gone nuts over the whole thing, and unless I can fix that, it's gonna be rough getting anything else out of him."

Mustang leaned back in his seat with a knowing nod of his head. "Stealing one's girlfriend _is _grounds for complication."

Ed's evil grin returned. "Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you?"

The colonel narrowed his eyes at Ed and frowned. "In any case, we'll need to smooth that issue over. You'll have to remain here with Draco to sort things out."

Instantly, the evil grin vanished as Ed leaned forward in his seat, his eyes wide. "What? You mean I can't go back to Amestris?"

After a moment of silence, Colonel Mustang slowly shook his head. "Not just yet."

"Why the hell _not_? I want _out _of this mission, Mustang. You only ordered me to watch over Draco, and now that we know that Draco's got a link to Voldemort-"

"The situation is more delicate than that and apparently calls for more time. If you and Draco were on good terms then I would be able to permit an absence-"

"I'm not asking for an absence! I-"

"Your orders," Mustang said firmly, raising his voice, "are to stay with Draco. Got that?"

There was another pause as Ed studied the colonel's face. "Stay with Draco?" Great. Mustang was really getting good at issuing stupid vague orders. And what did he mean by the situation being "more delicate than that?" What did that even _mean_? Did it have anything to do with what Ed had discovered about the societal structure of the wizarding world? The colonel's expression was completely unreadable, but if Ed was right in his assumption, then Mustang had made his point. He groaned softly, massaging his forehead and hiding his eyes.

"Fine, but... Will I at least get to see Al?"

Roy looked thoughtful for a moment, considering the request, then rose to his feet and moved around the desk toward the door. "Very well. I'll see if we can arrange for Alphonse to be brought here." A relieved sound came out of Edward and he seemed to relax immediately. "That's enough for now. I'll owl Central in regards to your upcoming assessment. I should be able to vouch for you, so you can relax."

Ed breathed a sigh of relief. He hated that yearly assessment .

"But just in case, have a full, detailed report prepared on all of your findings." Roy smirked at the scowl that now marred Ed's features. "I'll also owl Hughes about Severus Snape and see if he can get on that right away. Leave your things in Draco's room until Narcissa and I figure out the living arrangements. I'll be sure to keep you posted on what our next move should be."

With a firm nod of his head, Ed got to his feet and started for the door that Mustang was now holding open. His smirk found its way back onto his face as he passed the colonel.

"Oh yeah," he said, a sly, teasing tone in his voice. "Just one question..."

Roy raised one eyebrow at him suspiciously. "Yes?"

Ed couldn't stop his grin from growing. "When's the wedding?"

The colonel glared at Ed hatefully as he hurried away, his mocking laughter echoing up and down the halls. If Ed had his way, then Mustang would _never _hear the end of this escapade. At the same time, he was eternally grateful that Mustang's ignition gloves were nowhere in sight.

* * *

**Author's Note: **oh, Mustang, you are so bad. XD brownie points to everyone who guessed Mustang was off visiting with Narcissa! i usually support Roy and Riza, but i couldn't resist making this pairing 'cause it cracks me up.  



	16. Visitation Rights

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be AU with HBP and definitely with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. Of all the rotten luck, it seems I didn't turn into Hiromu Arakawa _or _J.K. Rowling overnight.

**Author's Note:** okay, a few things to say: i do very desperately want to have a boggart appear at some point, but i've gotta work out the where and when, considering that it can't happen in DADA because boggarts were covered in their third year and it'd be weird for them to have to study it again. especially since Snape is the new teacher and i'm pretty sure he would not wanna go back to review third year material. Roy/Narcissa pairing - brownie points to those who guessed it would happen! i thought i had made it pretty obvious... but if you still didn't see it coming, that's fine, i still love you. XD as for the impending Draco/Hermione/Ed love triangle... i think i'll just let that unfold as we go along, savvy?

okay, enough of that. time for the much awaited chapter 16! Woooooh!

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**Chapter 16**  
**Visitation Rights**

Draco glared at Ed from his bed. "What are you still doing here?"

The young alchemist remained standing in the doorway, taking a few moments to gaze at Draco's room. The first thing that he noticed was the sheer size of it. There was apparently more room available to Draco than he knew what to do with. His room was simply decorated, once again in shades of silver and green. The bed was a king-sized four poster bed, like an enlarged version of what they had in Hogwarts. Its curtains had Draco's initials written on it in silver. On either side of the large bed were huge latticed windows and a door that led out to some sort of balcony. There was a long, emerald-green couch against the wall closest to the door that had large, soft-looking throw pillows on it. Lining the walls were shelves and drawers with pictures of Draco and other members of the Malfoy family.

"Nice room," said Ed as he stepped inside, dropping his trunk onto the couch. "Big."

The Malfoy heir's glare didn't soften. "_What are you still doing here_? Your bloody professor, headmaster, principal person is here, so why aren't you lot pissing off yet?"

Ed casually sat down on the couch next to his trunk. "In case you didn't notice, Mustang seems to really like your mother. I'd be willing to bet he's not planning on leaving any time soon."

Draco's eye twitched. Ed grinned inwardly. Obviously Draco had noticed; how could he _not _have? It was just so much fun to bring it back up and see the look on Draco's face. It was _priceless_.

"He told me to leave my stuff in here until they figure out where to put me," Ed continued as he retrieved a book from his suitcase. "So we'll just have to stick it out for a few more excruciating hours."

"Fine," Draco growled, settling back into bed. "Just keep it all out of my way."

"Sure."

He then turned to the book in his hands, absent-mindedly flipping through the pages. Draco glared at him for a few more moments before turning away, muttering under his breath about bookworms and pests. Ed stared blankly at the words on the pages for a moment before glancing back at Draco.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

Ed glared, narrowing his eyes. He'd ask his question anyway. "Why a ferret?"

Draco turned slightly so he could see Ed, giving him a weird look. "Excuse me?"

"Earlier. You threatened to turn Mustang into a ferret, remember?"

"Oh, that." He scowled and rolled onto his side. "It's an easy animal to kick around, is all."

Ed laughed out loud at that. "I'm gonna keep that in mind."

Though Draco wasn't sure whether or not to take that as a compliment or an insult, he smiled slightly. It was nice to know they at least saw eye to eye on something.

* * *

Roy and Narcissa lent Ed a room across the hall from Draco's. It was, as Roy had put it, close enough for him to be able to keep tabs on Draco, but far enough to allow both of them some privacy. Draco protested against this, demanding to know why on earth Ed couldn't be put into a separate wing seeing as there were, after all, dozens of other empty rooms in the house. His arguments were quickly shut down since Narcissa was in no mood to deal with him - not after the earlier yelling she'd had to endure from her only son. Ed said nothing, knowing exactly what was on Mustang's mind, though he did have to wonder whether or not Narcissa had been told anything. Even so, Draco was all too happy to help Ed settle in that night, eagerly dragging his trunk across the hall and tossing his things unceremoniously onto the bed before heading back into his own room to sleep. 

The next day passed uneventfully. Draco skulked about the estate, preferring to stay as far away from Edward as possible. Ed didn't mind at all; he didn't really need to follow Draco around the manor, even though Mustang insisted that he do so (probably to keep him distracted from trying to find out whatever he and Narcissa secretly did all day long). This gave him time to think and he certainly had a lot on his mind. So whenever he got tired of puzzling through his books and notes or writing that cursed report for his assessment, he allowed himself to take a much needed break by exploring the large mansion.

The day was otherwise completely boring and seemed to last much longer than was necessary. The only things Ed looked forward to were their meals. Aristocrats ate well, there was no doubt about that, and the food was delicious and came in ample servings. Ed helped himself to as much as his body could stand, though he made sure to keep himself looking dignified in Narcissa's presence. Draco would occasionally make odd sounds that closely resembled stifled laughter, since he knew how Ed ate under normal circumstances.

It was only during that night's dinner that anything happened. Neither Ed nor Draco said a word as they ate their meal. Only Roy and Narcissa's voices could be heard as they shamelessly flirted with one another, irritating both teenagers to no end. They tried very hard to keep their faces smooth and expressionless in spite of how irritated they were by the laughter.

Not long after dinner began, there was a thunderous knock on the front door. Mustang looked ready to get up and answer it, but Narcissa made a motion for him to remain seated and instructed one of the house-elves to get it.

"I wonder who it could be?" wondered Narcissa aloud as the house-elf disappeared. "It's rather late for any sort of house call or visit."

"It should be fine, Narcissa," Roy assured her, laying a hand over hers. "I doubt if anyone dangerous is out there tonight. Besides, you're perfectly safe here with me."

An affectionate look appeared on Narcissa's face as she melted under his gaze. "Roy..."

Draco violently jabbed at his steak, shooting Roy another hateful glare as he did so. Ed barely managed to stop himself from laughing as he quickly reached for his drink and took several long sips. Neither one of the adults took any notice and continued to stare into each other's eyes, smiling.

"My lady?"

Slowly, Narcissa looked away from Roy and turned to the house-elf that was now standing in the entranceway to the dining room. The small creature seemed somewhat nervous, twiddling its fingers as it looked at everyone at the table.

"Yes?"

The house-elf bowed. "There's a visitor. He says he's here for my master and lady's guests."

Ed's eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at Roy. "Who'd you send for?"

Before Mustang could answer him, their guest stepped into the doorway. "Good evening, everyone."

The young alchemist's eyes grew wide and he immediately spun around in his seat to face the visitor. Sure enough, standing next to the house-elf, completely dwarfing it in comparison, was a large, hulking suit of armor. It stood at almost eight feet tall and wore a small, light-colored loincloth of some kind. Its hands were politely clasped in front of it as it bowed low in greeting to everyone in the room.

"I'm very sorry for interrupting your meal," the armor said politely, the young (though certainly male) voice reverberating slightly within the suit.

This was one of very few moments in Malfoy history that both Narcissa and Draco seemed to be frightened. The expression was more apparent on Narcissa's face as she stared wide-eyed at the suit of armor with her mouth hanging slightly agape. She was suddenly clutching Roy's hand very tightly in hers, finding herself unable to speak in spite of her attempts to do so. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, vaguely resembling a goldfish as she did so. Draco had also found himself at a loss for words and could only stare at the suit of armor.

After a brief moment, the armor jumped slightly in place as he noticed Mustang at the dinner table. "C-Colonel? What are you doing _here_?"

Draco raised his eyebrows in affected surprise and also turned to look at Mustang. "'Colonel'?"

Roy returned Draco's suspicious look with a cool gaze and then turned to the suit of armor with a meaningful look in his dark eyes. The armor seemed instantly distraught, waving his hands before him in a clear fit of panic.

"Oh! I mean! Um... Mr. Mustang! Sir! I mean..."

Narcissa slowly looked at Roy, a questioning look on her pale face. The colonel smiled back at her reassuringly. "There's no need to be so alarmed," he said gently. "This is-"

"DEAR BROTHER!"

Without anyone noticing, Ed had suddenly leapt out of his seat at the table and hurled himself upon Alphonse in what looked to be a very awkward hug. And if the loud "clank" that had accompanied the action was any indication, it must have been somewhat painful for Edward. Despite that, there was a joyous look on Ed's face that neither Malfoy had ever seen before. All at once, everyone looked shocked and surprised. It was hard to tell, but it seemed that Al was, too.

"Whoa! It's nice to see you, too, nii-san!"

Roy narrowed his eyes at Ed in annoyance. "Edward, I'm trying to introduce your-"

"It'll have to wait," Ed said quickly, grinning as he dragged Al away. "C'mere, Al!"

"Wh-Wha... huh?"

Mustang rose to his feet, just about to order Ed to stop and return to the meal, but they were gone so quickly he didn't have the chance. He let out an annoyed breath and sank back into his chair, putting one hand to his head. The dinner table remained silent for a few more moments, both Narcissa and Draco sitting very still with their eyes lingering on the spot that the suit of armor had appeared. At length, they both looked to Roy for an explanation. The dark-haired colonel was slightly slumped in his seat, one hand gingerly massaging his temple.

"Roy, what just happened?"

"Who the bloody hell was that armored man?"

The colonel slowly looked at the two Malfoys and sighed, hoping not to sound as exhausted as he felt. "That was Alphonse Elric," he explained. "He is Edward's younger brother."

Narcissa gasped softly, her eyes going wide in surprise. "His _younger _brother?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" asked Draco. "I mean, Elric's so much _shorter_."

A smirk made its way onto Roy's face. He was amused by the comment, but knew that it was a good thing that Ed had already left the room. One of his trademark anti-short outbursts was _not _going to help with his new headache.

* * *

Alphonse quickly blocked the incoming punch and forced his attacker back. 

"That was really rude of you, nii-san! Just pulling me away like that!"

Ed leapt away for a brief moment and then pounced on his younger brother again with a flying kick, springing himself forward with more force this time. Once more Al blocked the attack and deflected it, pushing Ed back once again. He flipped in the air so that he landed on his feet and crouched down.

"It'll be fine! They don't care, they're rude, too!"

Then, narrowing his eyes slightly, Ed charged forward. This time, however, Al chose to attack as well, swinging one mighty fist at his older brother. Ed halted his charge at once and raised his arms in front of him to block the punch. It connected with his auto-mail arm so no damage was taken, but was still so forceful that Ed was pushed back with its momentum, his legs dragging through the shallow snow.

"That's not an excuse!"

"Aw, just shut up and fight."

He kicked some of the snow away and then sprang forward again with another kick, that Al caught in one hand. Ed pulled his body forward to kick at Al's head with his other leg, but he was blocked again. Al reared his arm back and tried to deliver an uppercut, but Ed pushed off of him and flipped backward in the air. As he fell back to the ground, Al moved forward and swung another punch at him, but Ed crouched to the floor in a dodge and kicked one of Al's legs out from underneath him. Before he could lose his balance, Al used his raised leg to kick at Ed, but missed.

"I think your attacks are getting more ruthless," Al mused aloud as he dodged Ed's counterattack. "Are you really _that _angry about all this, nii-san?"

Edward jumped back a few feet, flicking his long braid over his shoulder. "Of course I am! You expect me _not _to be? Colonel bastard just dumps me with this kid and gives me vague orders like 'watch over him' and 'see if he's connected to Voldemort.' I'm pretty sure I've established that he _is_, but I've got this feeling that there's some other part to this mission and he's not telling me!"

"I suppose I never expected you to be happy with your position," Al murmured thoughtfully, "but I hoped you at least had fun at that magic school."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Sure, Al," he said sarcastically. "I had _loads _of fun chasing Draco Malfoy around that giant school. The best part was asking the paintings and ghosts if they'd seen him and having them mistake me for a first-year."

Al sighed in exasperation. "You don't have to say it like that, you know..."

The older brother smirked slightly as he launched into another attack, making a roundhouse kick that Al once again blocked. He ducked under another of Al's punches and tried to uppercut him, but missed his target as Al backed away. He then grabbed Ed's wrist and held him still for a moment.

"So I guess you and Mr. Draco aren't exactly friends?"

Ed kicked some snow up into Al's face and wrenched his arm out of his grasp. He then quickly twisted around to deliver a high kick, whichAl deflected with the back of his arm as hetook a few steps back.

"You could say that," said Ed, as he barely dodged another kick. "Didn't I tell you in my letters? He's not exactly the easiest person to get along with, you know. He's really secretive and won't tell anything to someone he doesn't trust."

"So he's like you."

"IS _NOT_! Anyway, I've been trying to figure out how to get him to trust me, but..."

He made a face as he dodged another attack and slipped behind Al. The suit of armor whirled around, taking a few steps away from Ed. The brothers remained facing one another for a moment, Al giving Ed a few moments to catch his breath. Ed briefly rubbed his left arm, trying to keep it warm.

"You didn't do anything mean or rude to him, did you?"

There was a pause as Ed appeared to be thinking. Al took that as a "yes."

"So you've gotten yourself into trouble," Al commented with a sigh, shaking his head in dismay. "You never change, nii-san."

"What?" exclaimed Ed, shocked. "What're you-"

"I _knew _this would happen without me around!"

Ed's face fell and he looked away. "Well, we didn't exactly have a choice there," he muttered.

Al only nodded. "I know."

Then both boys fell back into a fighting stance. Al made the first move, rushing forward with a punch. Ed crouched down to dodge it and jumped a few feet back as Al followed his punch with a kick. When Al's leg was right over his head, Ed grabbed it with both hands and swung himself up and over his brother's body, landing gracefully behind him. Al darted forward to land another punch, but Ed quickly somersaulted back and away. When they were facing each other again, he just managed to block yet another of Al's punches, and Al immediately scooted backward.

"How is your study of magic going?"

"Well, I've been doing all sorts of research on how it works, but it's pretty complicated. I've got a few theories, but still have to get my hands on some actual evidence before I-"

"Nii-san," Al laughed softly as he blocked one of Ed's roundhouse kicks, "you know you're not writing a research essay or anything."

"Yeah, but..." Ed hesitated before continuing. He hadn't told Al anything about his findings on the Philosopher's Stone and wasn't entirely sure whether or not he should. He didn't want to get Al's hopes up in case he failed. "You know me. I just need to know, that's all."

It sounded like Al laughed softly again as he began to unleash a flurry of punches, but Ed couldn't tell over the clanging sounds that rang out every time he blocked with his right arm. At length, Ed jumped back into a crouch, skidding slightly through the snow. Al rushed in and swung his arm downward, but Ed quickly dodged to the side on all fours. He then pushed himself up onto his arms and threw his legs over his body to kick Al with his heels. Al blocked the hit from his left leg and grabbed onto his right, easily lifting him up off the ground and tossing him a good distance away.

Ed instinctively clapped his hands while he was in the air and slammed them down on the ground as he landed. With a flash of blue light, a giant hand rose from the snow behind Al and reached forward to grab him. Al yelped in alarm as the icy fingers closed around his armor body and then froze, holding him tightly in place.

"NII-SAN!" he shouted. "No using alchemy during spars, remember?"

The state alchemist laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Right. My bad, Al, I wasn't thinking." He walked over to his younger brother and patted the fingers that were wrapped around him, letting out an impressed whistle. "What a _beaut_."

"As always," Al added with an appreciative laugh.

"Yeah...?" Ed looked the giant hand once over. "Huh. I can't really tell."

"You need to remember that not everyone is as talented in alchemy as you are, nii-san."

Ed shrugged. "Well, it's been a while since I've transmuted anything like this since I'm pretty much screwed if I get caught. I sure miss it." He gave a toothy grin and stretched his limbs out. "Man, I haven't been able to cut loose in such a long time!"

Al seemed shocked. "You mean, you're completely out of practice?"

"Yep. Alchemy, fighting... As much as I'd love to sock Draco one in the nose, I can't 'cause I'm on orders. And the closest thing they've got to fighting over there is this thing called a 'wizard's duel,' and they don't have 'em very often."

"So I suppose you were taking it all out in our sparring match?"

"I guess that could be it." Ed grinned sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that." He then clapped hishands together, turning his attention to the hand of snow and ice that was still holding Al. "Well, I'd better fix this up."

He then laid his hands on top of it and, with another brilliant flash of light, the hand melted back into the ground without a trace. Al sighed in relief and set to work adjusting himself properly while Ed looked around the courtyard, desperate to find more things to transmute (it seemed quite clear that he was having alchemy cravings). After a moment, Al turned to look over at the mansion.

"This house is huge, isn't it?"

The elder Elric turned slightly to see what Al was seeing. At that moment, they were sitting in the middle of a large, empty space in the courtyard in the middle of the mansion. They were surrounded on every side by the house, as though they were sitting in the center of a fortress, which only made the estate seem even larger to them. Knowing that Al couldn't see the entire house from the courtyard, Ed drew a mental picture of Malfoy Manor (as he had explored it so far) in an attempt to estimate just how large the place was.

"You haveno idea," he said, getting to his feet and shaking the snow off of him. "You should see the rooms. They're _huge_."

Al looked at his brother excitedly. "Really?"

Ed laughed. "C'mon, let's go back inside and I'll show you. I'm freezing my ass off out here anyway."

With a nod of his metal head, Al got to his feet and followed his older brother back into the mansion. As they walked, they told one another more about what was going on in their lives. They already knew much of each other's stories because of their letters, but getting to actually hear them talk about it was different and more interesting. Ed even demonstrated a few of the more simple magic spells to Al. By the time they reached Ed's room, there was only one topic that had yet to be discussed.

"So how was your date with Hermione?"

Ed flinched visibly.

Al turned to look at him, obviously confused. "Nii-san...?"

"Uh..."

"Nii-san, what happened?" Then, getting increasingly alarmed, "What did you do? Were you rude to her? Were you... Nii-san, you didn't do anything like..."

"What? No! I didn't do anything! The date thing was fine, it's just that Draco-"

He stopped, catching himself before he let anything slip out. Ed wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was a good idea to be telling Al about Draco's feelings. It would have been one thing if it were just simple facts that were mission relevant, but this was human emotion and Edward Elric was not _completely _oblivious to that difference. He didn't have any right to be telling people about how he felt, and Draco had made it very clear that he didn't want anyone to know. Telling Mustang was different; the bastard hadn't been given any names or details. Al, on the other hand, knew just short of everything.

"What? What happened to Mr. Draco?"

_'But this is _Al, _here,' _Ed reasoned with himself as he flopped himself onto the bed. He looked back at his younger brother, finally deciding to at least tell him _something_. He gave Al a "don't-let-him-find-out-you-know" look before answering. "Well... Draco got kinda... jealous."

Al sat down at the silver sofa across the bedroom. "Jealous?"

Ed nodded silently.

"Is he... Were they...?"

He nodded again. There was a long pause. Al just stared at his brother.

"So then... _NII-SAN_!"

Ed bolted into an upright sitting position as though the appalled tone in Al's voice had poked him sharply in the butt. "Wh-What?"

Al had leapt to his feet and seemed to be getting increasingly upset, his hollow-sounding voice reverberating in hysteria. "Are you saying that you _stole _Mr. Draco's _girlfriend _from him?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Ed hissed, his cheeks now bright red. "Look, I didn't mean to! I didn't know!"

"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?"

"It... It's kinda confusing. And... complicated. Okay? They're not really..." He sighed, exasperated. "I can't explain it."

With that, Al finally fell silent, sinking back into the sofa. Ed watched him, as though to make sure he wouldn't make any more accusations. He then leaned back into the bed, putting his arms behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling.

"Either way," he said at length, "I've gotta make it up to him. I tried apologizing to him, but he won't hear it."

"I thought you didn't like Mr. Draco."

Ed snorted. "I don't. Not really. But that doesn't mean I want him thinking I'm some kinda girlfriend-snatcher like Mustang!"

Al just looked at Ed. "Nii-san..."

It was hard to tell if he was relieved or still in shock, since he didn't have a very expressive face. Even Ed wasn't sure. He looked back at Al for a moment, tilting his head curiously to one side. Then, dismissing it for now, he stretched his limbs out with a large yawn.

"I'm beat," he murmured sleepily, shutting his eyes and lazily scratching his stomach. "I'm... just gonna..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence as sleep suddenly overcame him. It wasn't much longer before he was softly snoring away. Al eventually rose to his feet and approached the bed. He removed Ed's boots and then pulled the thick green sheets over him, shaking his head and laughing quietly. In his sleep, Ed pulled at the blanket and rolled onto his side with a soft moan.

As soon as he had finished tucking his older brother in (it really _was _hard to tell which one of them was older sometimes), Al straightened and looked at the door to the hallway. Then, clenching his hands determinedly at his sides, he marched toward it and stepped out into the large hallway. He walked right up to Draco's bedroom door and gently rapped on the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's Alphonse Elric, Mr. Draco."

There was some noise from the other side of the door and then the sound of approaching footsteps. The door swung open, revealing Draco standing directly in its path so that Al couldn't step inside. He leaned against the frame, looking Al up and down. He was intimidated by the sight of his armor, but did a pretty good job of not letting it show.

"Wh-What do you want?"

"Um..." Al lowered his gaze, anxiously shuffling his feet. "I just wanted to apologize."

The hint of apprehension on Draco's face suddenly vanished. His eyebrows arched up in surprise. "What for?"

"For my brother."

At once, Draco's face fell into a scowl. "What'd he say?"

"Nothing!" Al said quickly, waving his hands frantically in front of him. He then sighed emphatically, putting his hands together in front of him. "He didn't say anything. But I just wanted to apologize for, um... anything he may have done. I'm sure he's been mean or rude to everyone, but... that's just how he is. It's nothing personal, he doesn't mean any harm, really. Try to understand."

Draco was silent for a few moments, staring at Al with an unreadable expression on his face. Al tried to remain very still, resisting the temptation to fidget under his hard gaze.

"He can be hard to get along with sometimes," he went on, feeling like he had to keep talking, "but please forgive him. He doesn't really mean to be so rude. So... please?"

Still no response. He just continued to look at Al as though he were studying him. "You're apologizing for your brother..." He then shook his head in disbelief, chuckling in amusement. "What are you, his representative? His agent?"

Al was thoughtful for a brief moment. "In a way."

The teasing look on Draco's face faded. "You're serious." Al nodded solemnly. Once again Draco looked him up and down. "How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen, Mr. Draco."

Draco gave him an odd look. "Fifteen, eh? Awful tall for your age."

Al shuffled his feet uncomfortably. It wasn't like he had _asked _to become a near eight-foot tall suit of armor. Draco obviously didn't notice his discomfort as he continued to scrutinize him from his arrogant position in the doorway for a few more minutes.

"So I suppose you really care about your brother."

"I do," replied Al, nodding. "We're all each other has."

There was another pause as Draco continued to look at him. However, his eyes no longer had the same contempt and annoyance as they did earlier. It was hard to tell, but he almost seemed sympathetic. Draco eventually straightened himself, putting one hand on the door.

"I'll think about it."

Were he able to, Al would have beamed. "Thank you, Mr. Draco!"

"Right," he muttered. "And look, drop the 'mister,' alright? Just 'Draco' is fine."

Then, without waiting for a response, Draco turned back and shut the door. Though he could no longer see him, Al bowed politely before happily heading back across the hall to Ed's room.

* * *

**Author's Note**: there's really not a whole lot going on in this chapter, other than love for Alphonse. :D the way i see it, Ed's not really himself unless Al's around (he just seems so serious without his kid brother), so he had to come in at some point. i adore Al, so i was definitely not going to allow myself to go on if i didn't include him somehow. so... love for Alphonse and his ability to kick Ed's ass! but don't worry Ed, that doesn't make you any less cool... _(hugs Ed)_


	17. Christmas Cheer

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere _near _as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They rule. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent:D

**Author's Note: **wow, i knew Al's return would get a reaction, but WOW! Al's got uber fan clubs all over the place, doesn't he? not that i hold it against him or anything. he's fantastic, and i love him, too! he's a gentle giant. i've just recently started to think of him as Ed's... parole officer, so to speak. XD so anyways... thanks for all the reviews again! the popularity of this story never ceases to amaze me. keep on reading!

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_**Chapter 17**_  
**Christmas Cheer**

By the next evening, Mustang was eternally grateful for Alphonse's presence. The younger brother had made numerous efforts to make peace between Ed and Draco, and they were starting to pay off. The hostile air that had been hovering between them began to slowly break down: They sometimes spoke to each other and Al was pleased to find that they were capable of carrying civil conversations... every once in a while, anyway.

On top of the progression of peace between the two boys, all of Malfoy Manor was springing into action. Narcissa hurried all over the estate with numerous letters in her hands and every available house-elf was busy putting up decorations all over the mansion. Ed and Al had seen the lady of the house talking into the fireplace on numerous occasions and couldn't help but wonder if she was cracking up. They had asked Mustang what was happening, but he didn't answer them - he only muttered something about presents under his breath.

"What the hell is going on?" Ed fumed as he and Al went back to his room.

"I'm not sure," Al answered with a shrug. "But I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later."

"But I wanna know _now_!"

"Patience, nii-san..."

"You don't know? What rock have you lot been living under?" The Elric brothers looked up as Draco stepped out of his room. He gave them an arrogant smirk as he shut the door behind him. "Do they not have Christmas in Germany?"

Both Elrics jumped in surprise. "_Christmas_?"

"That's right," Draco said again, folding his arms over his chest. "Christmas."

The brothers just stared. For a long moment, neither one of them moved a muscle, a shocked look plastered across Ed's face (and Al's too, if it were possible to tell). Draco looked back at them in confusion, uncomfortable with their silence.

"What's wrong with you two?" he demanded.

Slowly, Al and Ed turned to look at each other. It took another moment for the information to really sink in, and Al started to tremble in what could be easily interpreted as excitement. Ed, on the other hand, burst into laughter, slapping his forehead.

"Oh _yeah_! Haha! I completely forgot about that!"

"Nii-san!" Al cried, the tone of his voice confirming his eagerness. "We're going to celebrate Christmas!"

Ed grinned. "Guess so. What's it been now? Four, five years?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Since what?"

"Since the last time we celebrated Christmas!"

The Malfoy heir raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What? You haven't celebrated Christmas in five years?"

"Yeah, well, we've been... busy," Ed told him with a nonchalant shrug.

"Your school keeps you too busy to celebrate Christmas of all things?"

Al shook his head. "Actually, we-"

"Something like that," Ed said casually, cutting Al off. He shot Al a quick, severe look, making Al shrink back. "But it's really not a big deal."

"Seems rather pathetic, if you ask me," smirked Draco. Ed frowned. Al's shoulders slumped. "Either way, that's what everyone's preparing for. My parents hold a Christmas party here in the mansion every year. It's always a huge social event, and naturally just about _everyone _whose worth a damn comes, whether they're invited or not." He laughed to himself as he started to walk toward the staircase at the end of the hallway. "_That's _how big and important it is. It gets reviews and it's _always_ featured in the society papers. Which is why they make a huge fuss over it, insist that _everyone _help with it and all that."

Ed and Al nodded slowly. "Oh..."

Draco stopped and turned to look at them, clearing his throat. "So _everyone_ has to help."

The brothers exchanged confused glances. "Uh... so?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "_Merlin_, you're daft. Do I have to spell it out for you? _Get your wand and follow me_."

Ed frowned and crossed his arms. "Why the hell should I?"

"_Nii-san_," Al scolded. "Don't be rude!"

"You're helping with decorations, _obviously_," Draco snapped. "D'you think we're just going to let you lay around the house and do nothing?"

"Of course not! _Merlin _forbid that the _guests _do _nothing_!" The mocking, sarcastic tone in Ed's voice couldn't possibly have been any more obvious.

Draco glared at him. "Just get your sorry arse downstairs."

With that, he turned back around sharply and continued on his way. Ed rolled his eyes, making a face at Draco's back (at which Al gasped and scolded him again). He then gestured for Al to come with him to get his wand.

* * *

While Alphonse genuinely enjoyed watching everyone use magic to decorate the Malfoy estate, Ed was getting increasingly irritated with the task. Although he had been learning and using magic for about four months now, the fact that he still didn't know how it worked continued to plague his thoughts. He grudgingly mimicked the actions of the others - the house-elves and wizards that had been hired by Narcissa - as they conjured up various wreaths and lights. Since they didn't have wands, Al and Roy resorted to doing the more menial tasks, which obviously pleased Draco. He couldn't suppress his grin as he ordered Roy around, forcing him to do the especially tasking work. Ed did the same when he could since it was one of the few things that were cheering him up. Another thing was picking on Draco. 

"So let me get this straight," he said, sounding thoughtful as he wound a long string of lights down the rail of the staircase. "The only thing that you're ever asked to do around the house is help decorate for the annual Christmas party?"

Draco shot another mean glare in Ed's direction, at which the smug smile on Ed's face grew. "And the problem with that being what, exactly?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not a _bad _thing. I mean, it's good that you help somehow. But..." A teasing grin crept onto Ed's face. He just couldn't resist. "... doesn't that make you feel like - oh, I don't know - a lowly slave?"

Yet another glare. "I'll have you know that as the head of my family I choose what is and isn't worth my time to do. This is not slave work, it's part of social obligation. Though I'm sure you know _nothing _about high society, do you, Elric?"

Ed applauded lightly. "Nice comeback!" he praised sarcastically. "Personally, I don't give a _damn _about high society, _or_ its retarded rules and expectations and all that bullshit."

Draco smirked and started to walk off. "Then I assume you'd know all about slave work, wouldn't you, pipsqueak?"

A vein popped out on Ed's forehead. He was about to stomp over to sock Draco one in the face, when he remembered he had a wand in his hand. He grinned evilly as he aimed the stick of mahogany at Draco's backside. _'When in Rome...'_

Unfortunately for Ed, Al had quickly come up from behind and stopped him, holding Ed back by his arms. "Nii-san, don't!" he said urgently. "We're done now, so-"

"Aw, c'mon!" Ed argued, struggling against Al's grip and getting red in the face. "Lemme at 'im, Al! He won't be a ferret for too long, and I swear I'll change him back!"

"_Nii-san_!" Al gasped and quickly snatched Ed's wand away. "No hexing!"

"Then lemme hit 'im! Just one punch! Just one and I'll be satisfied, I swear! C'mon, Al! Lemme just have _one punch_!"

Al sighed and shook his head slowly, easily lifting Ed off the ground. A long stream of angry obscenities was left in their wake as Al carried the small alchemist back upstairs, kicking and screaming the whole way.

* * *

Christmas Eve arrived and the annual Malfoy Christmas party was in full swing before dinner. The entrance hall, the ballroom, many of the hallways, and the living rooms (yes, the house had more than one) were filled with people of every kind of magical heritage imaginable. Some were celebrities while others were from the ministry or of similarly high-ranking, influential positions. Still others were either social climbers, journalists, or just plain rich. But all of them, the way Ed saw it, were exactly the same: boring, wealthy, socialite snobs. 

Edward trailed behind Mustang and the Malfoys as they weaved through the crowds, making frequent stops to talk to various people that he neither recognized or cared about. He didn't want to be following them around - he wanted nothing more than to stay hidden somewhere with Al. It was Christmas, after all, and even though he hadn't celebrated it in a long time and was no longer accustomed to it, Ed remembered what their mother had taught them about the holiday: you were supposed to spend Christmas with the people you cared about most. For the Elric brothers, that was each other. But Mustang advised against it.

"One doesn't spend time at a party in the corner next to a suit of armor," he'd said. "It's not the way high society works. You don't want to attract any unnecessary attention to yourself, do you?"

As he had told Draco, Ed didn't care for the rules of high society. He hadn't hesitated to tell Roy off in a similar fashion (except this time he'd used a much more vulgar and colorful phrasing), but that had only landed him with more of those stupid orders that Mustang was getting so good at issuing. Ed was now expressly forbidden to skulk at the back of the room with Al and was to remain with Draco at all times. Even so, the young state alchemist's mind had already walked out on the party and his eyes were drifting around the room in search of Al. He couldn't help it if he was worried about his younger brother being lonely.

Narcissa took it upon herself to introduce everyone she spoke with to Draco and Roy, introducing Roy as her escort for the night. Ed wanted to laugh at the annoyed look on Roy's face, but knew well enough to resist (no matter how hard it was to do so). In spite of the fact that many people could have cared less about who he was, Roy expertly proved them wrong within mere minutes. He employed his brown-nosing tactics to their full potential, making himself an active participant in all of their discussions and revealing the infamous charm and charisma that had captivated hundreds of people before. Dressed head to toe in an expensive looking suit, it seemed like he had already stolen the hearts of more than two dozen women with his smile alone, whether they were married, single, or underage.

Dressed in a silk, dark-grey suit with a black turtleneck underneath, Draco had also amassed a fan club of sorts, but he easily ignored their dreamy glances (he was apparently used to receiving such attention). His interactions with the people Narcissa introduced them to was almost predictably polite. He played his role as the new head of the family perfectly, smiling and treating everyone with a respect that only a few of them truly deserved. But the moment they turned away his face was wiped of all expression. Ed could tell that he was bored, even though he had made such a big deal out of the social duty that this Christmas party required of him.

Draco tried to hide a large yawn as Narcissa and Roy chatted up a group of very wealthy looking middle-aged men while taking careful sips of their champagne. He cast around the room, obviously searching for someone interesting to talk to. Ed's attention was divided between looking for Al and keeping an eye on Draco. It would be all too easy to lose him in this throng of people, and despite Ed's request to quit the mission, he still had to watch him.

Suddenly, a look of horror flickered momentarily over Draco's face. Ed cocked an eyebrow. It was a strange thing to see, since Draco was usually so unreadable, but it wasn't long before Ed found out what was wrong.

"There they are! EDDY! DRAKEY!"

Chills ran up and down Ed's spine at the sound of her voice. "Oh no."

From out of nowhere emerged Pansy Parkinson, dressed in a form-fitting red tube dress with small white frills lacing the hem of the skirt. It was probably meant to make her look like some sort of slutty Santa helper, though it definitely didn't work on her. She immediately latched onto Ed's left arm and smiled at him, playfully wrinkling her pug nose.

"Ooh, Eddy!" she trilled, looking him up and down. "You look positively _dashing_ tonight! I _adore _your outfit!"

"Thanks," he deadpanned in response.

Ed groaned inwardly. He hadn't picked the clothes out himself, of course. Mustang had thrown them into his room a few hours before the party got underway, ordering him to wear them. He was currently dressed in a long-sleeved maroon top that he had snugly buttoned all the way up to his collarbone. It was made of some sort of silk or satin that reflected the light off of its sheen. The cuffs were tightly buttoned, but just in case they came undone, Ed had transmuted a pair of longer, flesh-colored gloves to wear under his normal white ones. He let the tails of the top spill over so that it covered his belt and had popped the collar slightly to help hide the auto-mail port on his shoulder. He wore dark slacks similar to the pair he usually wore, except these were made of a different, softer material. Thankfully, Mustang hadn't given him any specific shoes, so he just wore his usual boots.

Pansy didn't seem to be able to stop running her fingers over his sleeve and tugging at his collar (which was really starting to piss Ed off). She eventually moved on to Draco, throwing her arms around his neck as she showered him with compliments about how gorgeous he looked. She tried to kiss him, but Draco skillfully evaded her lips and gently pried himself away, smoothing his jacket down over his chest. Following Pansy were three other girls, all of whom were dressed in extravagant gowns. They all seemed somewhat frazzled, switching their attention from one boy to the other, unable to decide who was most worthy of being worshipped.

"Happy Christmas, Drakey," Pansy cooed, bringing her face so close to Draco's that their noses touched.

Draco made a face and took a step back. "Yeah, yeah. Happy Christmas, Pans."

She smiled broadly, clearly pleased to have been greeted. She then turned to the flock of girls that had followed her and gestured toward Ed. "Girls, this is Edward Elric, the transfer student I was telling you about."

Their heads finally stopped swiveling between Draco and Ed and finally settled on Ed. He squirmed uncomfortably under their intense stares.

"Hello Edward," they all said sweetly in unison.

"Uh... Hi."

All three girls suddenly squealed, blushing and giggling wildly amongst themselves. Ed jumped slightly in alarm. He'd never seen anyone do that before. At least not around _him_. Before Ed knew it, the three girls had him surrounded, looking at him with love struck expressions on their faces. He forced a smile and slowly backed away, the corners of his lips twitching. The girls seemed to be introducing themselves, but Ed was distracted with trying to figure out how to escape from them.

"You've gotten mighty popular, haven't you, Elric?"

An arm slung around his shoulders and the sound of mocking laughter suddenly filled Ed's ears. He grimaced, knowing exactly who it was without looking: Blaise Zabini, flashing everyone a wry smile.

"Happy Christmas."

Ed glared at him out of the corner of his eye and quickly freed himself from his grasp. "What're _you _doing here?"

"My family was invited, of course! Y'should've seen how my mum reacted when we got it. Prize reaction, that was." He then turned to Pansy and the other girls with a wink. "Evening ladies. Happy Christmas."

Between Ed and Draco looking simply fantastic and Zabini's flirting, the three girls really were lost. As they looked at the three boys before them, their cheeks glowed so bright and red that they gave Rudolf a run for his money. It was apparently too much for the girls to take and they quickly excused themselves, shuffling away to a different part of the room. Zabini watched them as they left, a hungry, predatory glimmer in his eyes. Pansy looked over at Blaise, finally pulling herself away from Draco to smile absently at him.

"Happy Christmas to you as well, Blaise."

She then resumed the (one-sided) conversation she'd been having with Draco, ignoring the bored expression that was across his face. Zabini's smile deepened slightly and he turned back to Ed.

"Well Elric, seems you've got all the best luck with girls. You've suddenly turned into a real heartthrob! How'd you do it? You been spending your holiday working out?"

Ed blinked. "I guess I've sorta been getting back into shape..." _'Al and I have been sparring a lot lately to make up for lost time...' _

Blaise elbowed Ed playfully and gestured to several different parts of the room. "Well, Elric. Have a look there, there, and over there."

He did as instructed, looking in every direction that Zabini had pointed to, and was horrified to discover several different groups of girls staring at him and whispering to one another. A few of them looked like they very desperately wanted to see through his clothes. As his eyes fell on each group they blushed, turning back to one another and giggling. Ed grimaced.

"You've amassed quite a healthy fan club, Elric," Zabini teased. "And in just a few hours! I've got to say I'm impressed."

"Well, _don't _be," Ed said with a frown. "I don't _want _a fan club."

"Too late for that," smirked Draco, jumping at the chance to tease Ed. "You've got one, and that's that. It's not up to you decide whether or not one gets formed, trust me."

"Don't be upset, Eddy," said Pansy in a tone that was apparently supposed to be soothing. "It just means that they like you! And they obviously don't mind that you're shorter than them. You've got to take it as a compliment."

Ed felt like he'd been kicked in the groin. He was reaching the limits of his self-control. _'I gotta get outta here.'_

He then turned and began to walk away, quickly making up some excuse to get away from them for a little while. He thought he heard Draco calling after him to take his time (or was it Mustang saying to come back at once?), but he didn't care. Ed just had to find someplace secluded so that he could hit something without anyone seeing. Stuffing his fists into his pockets to keep himself from punching one of the guests, Ed weaved his way through the crowd to get to the next room.

The next room was equally crowded, the air filled with the sound of music, light conversation, and the tinkling of champagne glasses. As Ed searched the room for another exit, he noted something that only added to his foul mood: more members of his new fan club. But these girls were worse than the others because the moment that they saw him standing in the doorway, they started to come toward him.

Ed quickly backed away and made his way across the hall again, moving more quickly this time in an attempt to lose the girls somewhere in the crowd. But it was no use. Everywhere he went, they followed. And, unless Ed was imagining things, they were growing in number. As he passed from room to room, more and more girls joined the flock that was following him. He glanced back over his shoulder once and gulped. There were a lot. He was too afraid to look back long enough to count them.

It wasn't long before he was all out running from them, winding his way through the guests and hoping to get lost within the throngs of people. Nothing he did seemed to work however, because there was always at least one girl that would spot him just when he was almost free. Ed looked back over his shoulder, trying to figure out what to do, when he suddenly collided into something large and hard, making a loud metallic clang as he did so. He bounced back, falling to the ground and landing on his butt. He winced, sucking in air through his teeth while rubbing at the tender flesh.

"Ow..."

"Nii-san?"

His head snapped up at once. A large suit of armor loomed over him, trying to appear as though he wasn't looking at the small blonde boy on the floor. "Al? Al, is that you?"

"Shh! People will think it's weird if they see you ta-"

"Al, you've gotta help me!" Ed cried, jumping to his feet. He started to claw at Al's chest plate, searching for its latches. "You've gotta hide me! I can't shake 'em, Al! Lemme in there!"

Alphonse jerked away from Ed at once, resisting the urge to put his hands protectively over his chest plate. "Nii-san, no! You're on orders, remember? And if someone sees the blood seal while you're getting in... And you have no idea how weird it feels to have someone inside my body!"

Before Ed could argue, his fan club spotted him and resumed their chase. His gold eyes went wide at the sight of them and he dashed away, leaving behind a very confused Alphonse Elric. Ed wove in and out of the crowd, keeping himself low to the ground. His mind raced, trying to figure out ways for him to hide from the mass of girls. He had to somehow completely vanish from sight. Hiding in Al's armor probably would have worked, but he'd already missed that chance.

Unbelievable. The one time that his lack of inches in height could have proved to be a real advantage and it failed him.

He ran toward the entrance to the patio and practically jumped onto the nearest stone wall. He clapped his hands and pressed them onto its surface. There was a flash of blue light as the wall caved under his hands and moved to surround him, creating what looked from the outside like a stone pillar in the middle of the wall. Ed leaned against the inside of it, releasing a sigh of relief. He knew he would be safe there. The girls would never suspect that he had transmuted a hiding place for himself in the middle of a stone wall. Especially since they didn't know anything about alchemy.

Ed clapped his hands again and transmuted small holes into the pillar, big enough to let him breathe and to see and hear what was going on outside, but small enough to go unnoticed. He then peered outside, keeping a wary eye out for his fan club. He grinned when he saw them hurry right past him, not suspecting a single thing.

"Who _is _that...?"

"...Edward Elric!"

"...said he's an exchange..."

"He is so _cute_!"

"'Cute'? He's not _cute_, he's bloody _gorgeous_!"

"I would just love to..."

Much to his chagrin, Ed's cheeks burned as he caught pieces of their conversation. _'Damn, these girls are crazy! Maybe I should stay in here until-'_

"You're finished?"

Ed jumped at the voice and pressed himself against the wall, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. Was someone in there with him? How was that possible? And how had his mind been read? Damn magic. It was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Bloody hell!" came a different, much younger-sounding voice. Then there was an exasperated sigh. "What is it _this _time?"

"You will one day pay for your insolence," snapped the other voice, clearly annoyed with the rudeness in the other person's tone. "I hope you realize that."

Ed heaved another sigh of relief as he realized that neither one of the voices were addressing him. He pressed one hand over his heart as though he were trying to calm it down. But then, if no one was talking to _him_, who _were _they talking to? Ed strained his ears. The voices were coming from the side of the pillar that was outside on the patio. He also heard several spells being cast, but Ed couldn't tell what they were. They had either been performed non-verbally or the noise of the party on the other side of the wall had drowned the words out.

He then transmuted one of the holes so that it was larger and he could see through it better. He peered into it carefully and looked out onto the patio. For a moment he couldn't see anything but moonlit patches of snow in the courtyard. Then suddenly, a figure stepped into view. A tall young man with white-blonde hair slicked back neatly over his head, dressed in a black turtleneck and a dark grey suit. Ed's eyes grew wide.

_'Draco...?'_

"Did you come here for a reason, Gibbon?"

_'Who the hell is Gibbon?' _Ed wondered, adjusting himself slightly to follow Draco's gaze. But all he could see of the man named Gibbon was a large, black robe.

"The Dark Lord is getting impatient. Have you done it yet?"

"N-Not yet. I need a bit more time."

"_More _time? I don't think he will appreciate your dilly-dallying, young Malfoy."

"I'll get it done," said Draco, a hint of fear underlying the usual arrogance in his voice. "It'll be done before the end of the school year, alright? So you just head back and leave this to-"

"He's been generous enough with the time he's given you, hasn't he? Perhaps I should advise him to assign someone else to this task. I don't see what the problem is. If it were me, it would be done in a heartbeat."

"I said I'll get it done!" snapped Draco. "Don't worry about it, I can handle it fine! I've just had some minor problems. It's not even my fault, it's this new transfer student from Germany."

Ed frowned. _'Gee, thanks, blame it on _me_, why don't you.'_

"He just won't keep his nose out of-"

"You think the Dark Lord will tolerate any of your petty excuses?" Gibbon snapped back. "You _do _know the consequences if you fail this task, if he thinks you incapable of carrying out his orders. Or perhaps you need reminding."

There was a sound like he had conjured up something and Ed could just make out something hovering near Draco, glowing softly. He tried to see what it was but failed. He thought he heard the faint sound of a young woman screaming, but it was hard to tell over the hum of the ongoing party.

"No..." Draco's voice was so quiet and fearful that Ed almost didn't recognize it. "Stop..."

There was another moment of silence. Then Gibbon spoke again, the tone of his voice light and amused. "Ah... This is an interesting new development. You have more to lose than I had previously anticipated."

Draco seemed to go rigid with fear. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

Gibbon began to laugh. "Who knew that you would become so incredibly infatuated with a _Mudblood_? And Harry Potter's best friend, no less! What would your father say?"

Suddenly, Draco snapped. He stomped one foot angrily on the ground. "Get out of my thoughts, Gibbon! You have no idea what you're saying!"

An almost evil cackle bounced off the stone walls of the mansion, filling the air with its hideous sound. "I beg to differ, young Malfoy!" the man went on, clearly enjoying himself. "And who knows, if you succeed with this task, the Dark Lord may even allow you to torture and kill her off as part of your initiation. A severe case of the Cruciatus Curse followed by the Killing Curse would be adequate. As an added bonus, it will be a terrible emotional blow to poor Mr. Potter. And as further evidence of your service of loyalty to the Dark Lord, you can even make the Mudblood-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! _SHUT UP_!" Draco yelled, beginning to reach the brink of hysteria. He was trembling in uncontrollable rage. "I DON'T CARE WHAT THE HELL YOU DO, GIBBON! BUT YOU LEAVE HER THE _HELL _OUT OF THIS!"

Silence suddenly fell over the patio. Draco's outburst had been shocking even to him, so much so that he seemed to find difficulty breathing. He dropped his gaze, not wanting the cloaked man to see the embarrassment on his face. Even Ed's breath had caught in his throat as he stared out of his spy hole, his gold eyes wide.

"You're treading in dangerous waters, Draco," the cloaked man said at length, unfazed. "I hope you know that. Just get the job done. Those are your orders."

The thing that had been hovering near Draco vanished and there was a sudden crack noise, like the air had been struck by a whip. There was another long silence during which Draco did nothing more than stand perfectly still. He eventually turned around and staggered toward the door to rejoin the party, vanishing out of Ed's line of sight.

Ed leaned back against the wall, shutting his eyes. His mind began to race. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he knew that he'd already heard too much. And then suddenly, as if his ears hadn't already drunk up enough information for one night, Ed heard a very peculiar sound coming from outside.

In truth, the sound itself wasn't peculiar at all, but it really belonged to only one kind of circumstance. Shocked, Ed tried to look through his spy hole again. He could just make out Draco's figure slumped against the wall, his face covered by his hands. A strangled sound seemed to escape from his throat. Ed stared, astonished.

_'He's not... He _can't _be...'_

No matter how hard Ed tried to imagine it, the mere idea, the very possibility of it was simply unthinkable. But there it was, right before his eyes. There was no other explanation.

_'Is Draco... crying...?'_

* * *

**Author's Note:** _To All My Fellow Fan Girls:_ imagine. Ed, Roy, Draco, and Blaise, all looking simply _gorgeous _at this party. picture that for a moment if you will. hold that image in your mind and cherish it. because _damn_ those guys are fine. XD _(sigh)_ the mental image i have of Ed all dressed up is so... _(dreamy sigh)_ he deserves that fan club. he honestly does. _(glares at Pansy) _HANDS OFF, WOMAN! 

anyways, i realize that Hiromu Arakawa didn't really want her people of Amestris to celebrate any of the same holidays that we do, but i wanted Ed and Al to have some sort of past exposure to Christmas. i myself don't _exactly _celebrate Christmas either, so i can kinda relate to the awkwardness he's experiencing in that regard. i always feel kinda... out of place at Christmas parties. must be so much worse when they're big high society ones...

also... we just picked a random Death Eater to drop in on Malfoy, and Gibbon's name just happened to be floating around in our brains. so... he's getting abused. :D it's his own damn fault for being one of the named ones! anyways, we decided that he's a relatively skilled Legilimens, which is why he was able to find out about Draco's feelings for Hermione.

hehehe... YAY ANGST!

_ EDIT: Sorry for scaring people with my weirdness. i think i'm about to go over the deep end. XD_


	18. The AfterglowCollateral Damage

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere _near _as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They rule. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **hehehe... I'm sorry for being so weird. I'm just… a crazed fangirl. I'm sorry! I hope my weirdness hasn't scared you away! I'm a little surprised no one commented on Ed's ferret remark, though… oh well!

_miroku-has-darkness _- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be sexist or whatever in my author's note, I just… wanted to point that out, in case it wasn't clear. I put a warning before that little bit now, but sorry for scaring you with it.

_Chrosis _- ehehe... _(sweatdrop) _sorry 'bout that...

_Light Dragon SunsSong_ - thank you very much! well, I haven't gotten into too much of the Elric brothers' past (I'm trying to figure out what more I can include later), but I'm glad that you've been able to understand it so far. :D and I'm even more glad that you like it so far! and yes, you should definitely start watching/reading Fullmetal Alchemist, it's really a fantastic series.

_hyperdude _- Gibbon… hey, that's right! Now I'm reminded of "Escape from Monkey Island"… the "Gimpy Gibbon" move! Bwahaha! Oh man, I gotta find me some good fanfics for the Monkey Island series… "I'm Guybrush Threepwood! Lovable pirate and financial _gold _for LucasArts!" and oh yes, I sorta got the idea for Ed's outfit from some of the recent chapters of the manga (he's been seen less and less in his usual outfit lately, but he still looks good), but I had to add my own ideas for the color. but I'd still love to see your drawing of him! XD

_Beboots _- He is very deserving of a fan club, isn't he? I'd so join them if Ed didn't hate 'em. :P Actually, my original idea was for Ed to hide in Al's armor and have both Elrics overhear Draco's conversation with Gibbon, but I received protests about the idea from CSAG's godparent and from Al himself. XP (man, I'm cracking up) good reasons, though, so it became that Al refused to let Ed hide in his armor. I believe Al probably would've let Ed hide if he knew what was going on, but he didn't and was just concerned about people seeing the blood seal. They probably wouldn't have noticed, but Al's just being cautious.  
Crybaby!Draco? he's not being a crybaby per se, he's just… angsting. Permit Draco some angst! It's been exactly nine chapters since Ed's angst session, so now it's Draco's turn! BWAHAHA! (Ed&Draco: STOP IT!)

_meglar _- _(shields Draco's head)_ That's completely uncalled for. It's been perfectly clear from the very beginning that this story was going to center largely around Draco, so if you don't like him then you don't have to read it. Seeing as you've already come all this way into it, I'm going to assume that you like it (and you've even told me so). So please, _NO CHARACTER BASHING_. I will _not _under _any _circumstances tolerate character bashing, so... _(throws several cans at meglar's head) _Stop it.

* * *

_**Chapter 18**_  
**The Afterglow/Collateral Damage**

That night was one of the few in Edward Elric's young life in which sleep did not come easily to him. He had actually abandoned the party and knocked out before midnight, but the moment midnight struck Al leapt onto the bed, yelling excitedly about Christmas and presents, even though neither of them had received any to speak of. A small fist fight had then ensued, which Al won but Ed refused to acknowledge as legitimate. And once Ed finally _did_ manage to go back to sleep, it was unusually broken and restless. He kept waking up every few hours and would have to shift into another position in order to go back to sleep, gathering the blankets more tightly around him or angrily kicking them away. He didn't know why he felt so uneasy, and that only made him angrier.

So when Al tried to wake him again, at a much more reasonable hour (though still very early), Ed muttered something about needing more hours in a night and tossed a pillow at Al's head.

Alphonse released a heavy sigh as he trudged down the stairs. He'd never seen Ed so grumpy before. Then again, he probably should have known better than to try to wake him up so early. So for now he would just leave Ed alone in his room to sleep. He decided he would explore the mansion while everyone was still lying in bed. That way he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone and getting strange looks from them as they wondered (as usual) why a young boy was wearing a huge suit of armor. It would be a nice, relaxing sort of freedom that he would definitely enjoy.

Or so he thought.

As Al entered the main living room, he caught sight of a figure sitting on the carpet facing the fireplace. His white-blonde hair was slightly disheveled, as though he had run his fingers through it one too many times. The jacket of his dark-grey suit was sitting next to him in a messy heap and the long sleeves of his black turtleneck sweatshirt were slightly rolled up his arms. He seemed to be absently rubbing at a spot on his lower left arm, but it was hard to know for sure. Al couldn't see his face as he stared blankly into the fireplace, at the charred remnants of a fire that had been blazing there the night before, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Draco.

"Um... Mr. Draco?"

Draco didn't turn around. He merely rolled his sleeves back down his arms and continued to stare at the ashes in the fireplace. Al took a step closer.

"Mr. Draco... Have you been sitting here all night? You're still dressed..."

No answer.

"Did... Did you sleep at all?"

Still no answer. Al was starting to worry.

"Are you... feeling okay?"

He turned only slightly so that he could see Al. Draco's face was blank and expressionless as he turned to face him, his cold silver eyes staring straight through him as though he didn't recognize him. Al took another step forward.

"Mr... Draco...?"

For a moment longer Draco just looked at Al, still not uttering a sound. He averted his eyes, looking like he'd forgotten where he was and what he was doing. Then, still silent, he turned back to look into the fireplace.

It had only been about ten minutes since Al set out to explore the mansion, but he immediately decided that he was done for now. He hurried back up to Ed's room, where it looked like a mountain of pillows and blankets had replaced Ed on the bed, and tried to wake him up again.

"Nii-san... Nii-san!"

A fist emerged from amongst the pillows and began to wave sleepily in the air. "Unless it's already time for lunch, you'd better have a _damn _good reason for wakin' me, Al."

Al started to pull off the layers of pillows in search of his older brother. "Nii-san, it's about Mr. Draco."

"Ugh. Spare me."

"I just saw him downstairs, and he-"

"Oh, good for him," Ed muttered, his words slurring together with the need for more sleep. "What was he doing? Ordering the house-elves to fix him up a breakfast feast? Gloating over the mountains of presents from his fan club?"

"No, actually. He was just... sitting there."

"Sittin' at the table waitin' on breakfast?"

"No, he... He was sitting on the floor. By the fireplace."

Ed was confused, the hazy mist of sleep still veiled over his mind. "Huh?"

By now Al had successfully dug his brother out, revealing him sprawled out on his stomach with a pillow over his head, and seated himself at the end of the bed. He tilted his head thoughtfully to one side as he began to relay the details.

"It was strange. He wasn't really acting like himself. He looked at me like he didn't know me."

"Well..." Ed removed the pillow and rolled onto his back. "He _doesn't _really know you."

"I mean it was like he didn't recognize me. He seemed sort of... sad."

The haze was beginning to clear. "Sad?"

"Yeah. _Really _sad... I wonder what happened..."

Ed was suddenly wide awake and very alert, his eyes snapping open as he remembered what he'd seen last night. The conversation between Draco and that Gibbon guy. The job. The blackmail. The crying.

"He was acting like..." Al glanced cautiously at Ed. "Well, like _you_, nii-san. Back then. Remember?"

He didn't answer. Of course Ed remembered - it was hard to forget something like that - but it was strange. Some parts were so clear in his memory that they were terrifying, and others felt distant and blurry. He remembered the searing pain in his limbs and the twisting feeling in his gut when he saw what had been created. But he couldn't recall how long it had been since the transmutation by the time Mustang arrived and offered to make him a state alchemist. He remembered a deep feeling of utter despair and helplessness that he had since sworn never to feel again.

"I hope he's okay..."

"He's fine, Al."

Al turned to look at his brother in surprise. "But...!"

Ed pulled his blankets more tightly around him, rolling over so that Al couldn't see his face. "He's just being weird again. He gets like that a lot, it's no big deal, okay?"

He then shut his eyes and buried his face into the pillow, ready to go back to sleep. Al wanted to say something else, but he quickly realized that he wasn't going to get another word out of Ed. So he just sighed, got to his feet, and headed for the door.

"I hope you're right, nii-san," he said. "I'll let you sleep, then. I'll come back and wake you when it's time to eat."

Al stepped into the hallway and carefully shut the door behind him. He then wandered down the hall to continue exploring the mansion, leaving Ed to go back to sleep. But he didn't. Instead, Ed just stared at a spot on the floor, his mind racing, on full alert. He wasn't all that tired anymore.

* * *

Just as he had said, Al came back to wake Ed when it was time for breakfast a few hours later, but when he got there Ed had already taken a shower and was changing into a black sweatshirt and cargo pants. He braided his hair on the way to the dining room while telling Al about the misadventures he'd had during the Christmas party. He had just gotten to the part about his newly made fan club. 

"So _that's_ why you were trying to hide!" Al laughed.

Ed narrowed his eyes. "Shut up. It's not _that _funny."

"It's a _little_ funny, nii-san."

"No, it's really not."

He twisted his face up in annoyance, flicking his finished braid over his shoulder. He then stuffed his hands into his pockets and glared straight ahead. Al continued to tease him light-heartedly as they descended the staircase and walked down the hallway toward the dining room. But as they passed the entrance to the living room, something caught Ed's eye and he froze. Al looked back at his brother, confused.

"Nii-san? What's-"

"Happy Christmas, da - Draco, you look _terrible_! Are you ill?"

The Elric brothers looked into the living room, where they could see Narcissa helping Draco up off the floor and onto his feet. She ran one hand over his head, trying to smooth down his currently tousled hair. She peered worriedly into his face, just the way a mother did when she thought her five-year old child caught a cold. Draco just looked back at her silently, his face as smooth and pale as marble. His gaze, though mostly cold and blank, seemed almost sad as he looked at his mother. Then, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, Draco pulled his mother into a tight embrace.

Narcissa was clearly startled. Her eyes shot wide open in shock as his arms wrapped about her and he buried his face into her hair. For a moment she didn't know how to react. Draco _never _hugged her, not since he was a child. And even then it was a rare occurrence, only happening in the absolute absence of his father. Draco gripped the material of his mother's robe and tightened his hold on her, as though he had no intention of letting her go. Then, gently, Narcissa pulled away and carefully lifted her son's head so she could get a better look at him.

"Darling... Is everything all right?"

Draco just looked at her for a few more moments before finally averting his eyes, as though he couldn't bear to look at her any longer. With his gaze still lowered to the ground, he slowly shook his head. Narcissa was more than a little confused, but still offered him a kind smile. After another moment of careful motherly examination, she kissed him on the forehead (forced to raise herself up onto her toes to do so), took him by the hand, and led him toward the dining room.

"Let's get you something to eat. I'm sure that will make you feel much better..."

Edward remained standing in the doorway, following the mother-son pair with his eyes. It was the first time he'd seen with his own eyes just how much Narcissa cared for her only son. He'd never doubted that she loved him, but he'd never actually seen any displays of affection between them. And as he watched Lady Malfoy dote on her sixteen-year old son, Ed was painfully reminded of his own mother. He could practically see her in front of him, laying a gentle kiss over a band-aid that she had just put on one of his wounds. It was the love of a mother. Irreplaceable. Undeniable.

Apparently, Al was reminded of the exact same thing. "She reminds me of..."

"Yeah..." Ed quickly looked away, his frown deepening sadly.

"I miss her."

Ed was silent for a second longer, his eyes lowered to the floor. "Me too, Al."

He then continued on his way to the dining room, Al following after him.

* * *

Breakfast was relatively uneventful. Narcissa and Roy were flirting again, as they did all the time. He also presented her with a Christmas present: tickets for a private cruise around the Caribbean islands, good for any time of the year. In spite of the fact that it was relatively Muggle in nature, Narcissa was all for the idea of spending some time alone on a beautiful yacht with Roy. Ed gagged and made a face, which Al couldn't help but laugh at in spite of himself. However, Draco didn't react to it at all. In fact, it seemed as though he hadn't noticed anything that went on around him since he sat down. 

The table was filled with all sorts of traditional Christmas specialties, like potato pancakes and some dish called "angels on horseback." Ed had some of everything on the spread and had even instructed Al to "try some" so that he could eat more later. Narcissa and Roy were practically feeding each other. Only Draco seemed to have no appetite. After having just a few bites, he spent the rest of the time at the table poking what was left on his plate with his fork. He eventually got up and wordlessly left the table ahead of everyone else, heading for his bedroom.

After breakfast, just as Ed and Al began to ascend the staircase to go back to their room, Mustang stopped them.

"Fullmetal," he called in a firm, soft voice. Ed paused on the staircase to glare at him. "I want you to keep a close eye on him today."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I've got this sneaking suspicion that he's not gonna be that much trouble today. Y'know, just a hunch, considering he hasn't said a single word all morning."

"Even more reason to stick with him. His behavior has been very concerning. If something's going on with him, then I want you to be on top of it."

"Wow, Mustang, are you actually _worried _about him? I guess you must _really _like Narcissa. You're really gettin' involved in this new relationship. You play the father role incredibly well."

Mustang narrowed his eyes. "Fullmetal."

"Sheesh, touchy."

"Just try talking to him. Start acting like a _friend_."

"Keep your pants on, I've got this."

Then, not allowing the colonel to get another word in, Ed continued up to the top of the staircase, where Al had been waiting quietly for them to finish. Roy cleared his throat and adjusted his necktie as he went off to find Narcissa. He had no intention of keeping his pants on for much longer.

It seemed like the only part of the Malfoy household that was enjoying any sort of festive Christmas spirit was the part that hovered over Roy and Narcissa. They both had mistletoe somewhere on their person, ready to be dangled over their heads whenever they pleased. Narcissa had planned to take Draco out of the house together with Roy to "enjoy one another's company" (Ed gagged again), but her son had apparently locked himself away in his room, which made family bonding between them virtually impossible. Ed and Al tried desperately to remember what they used to do together during Christmas (apart from exchange gifts) but failed. So, between Ed's naps and despite his protests against the cold, they spent the day sparring in the courtyard and hanging out. It was better than doing nothing. So with Narcissa and Roy out of the house, Draco holed up in his bedroom, and Ed's numerous naps, the day just seemed to fly by.

Before long the sun was sinking into the horizon and it was almost time for dinner. Punctual as ever, Roy and Narcissa had just got back from... wherever they had gone all day, and the first thing they did was demand that everyone be at the dinner table that night for a Christmas feast. Al, being the only person they could find, was practically ordered to wake Ed for the meal.

Easier said than done. It was even harder to wake Ed up when he wasn't fighting back.

"Nii-san?"

Al gently shook his older brother by the shoulder. Ed tried to wave him away, saying something in a voice so exhausted that it was completely incoherent. It was easy to understand Ed's exhaustion; he had lost a dozen sparring matches in a row that day and hadn't slept very well through the night. Al would have been fine with letting him sleep, but he knew that if _he _didn't wake him, the colonel would employ his own methods ("roast the sleeping shrimp!"), which would only cause unneeded stress for everyone.

"Nii-san."

"Hnn...?"

"Get up, nii-san, we have to go downstairs."

"Hnn..."

"Colonel Mustang-"

"GRRNN..."

"He's pretty much ordering you to-"

"GRRRRNNN...!"

Mentioning the colonel obviously wasn't going to help. Al decided to change his tactics. "It's time for dinner."

Ed was silent for a moment. He then groggily sat up, the mist of sleep still visible on his face. "Dinner...?"

"Uh-huh."

He turned his head so that he was looking at Al. "What're we havin'?"

Al practically beamed at his success. "I'm not sure, but the colonel says it'll be a real feast."

There was another moment of silence as Ed contemplated his options. He could always ignore Mustang in favor of getting some more much needed sleep and possibly get in trouble. That sounded like fun. Unfortunately for Ed and his rebellious streak, the growling of his stomach convinced him to obey. Shaking off the drowsiness, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and forced himself to pull on his boots.

"Bastard colonel," he grumbled. "It's like he thinks he's our dad or somethin'..."

"He's only trying to help maintain your cover."

"I don't see how calling us down for dinner helps maintain our cover, Al. If he was gonna pretend to be our father, then he should've done that a _long _time ago, and I'm _very _glad he didn't. I'd hate to have to go around introducing myself as Edward _Mustang_." He shuddered. "Just the thought of it makes me completely nauseous."

Even Al had to admit that he had a hard time imagining himself as Alphonse Mustang. The _Mustang _brothers? It just felt wrong.

By now Ed had finished strapping up his boots and the two of them were out the door. Ed was already halfway down the hall, determined to get there fast, eat fast, and quickly go back to sleep. Ideally, this time he wouldn't wake up until late the next morning. He could feel all of his senses dying out from his mental and physical exhaustion. Al trailed behind, making sure that the door was shut before following his brother. But when he turned to hurry down the hall, he hesitated.

Ed looked back over his shoulder. "Hurry up, Al!"

"But... What about Mr. Draco?"

He flinched slightly. "What about him?"

"We should tell him that dinner's served." Al looked worriedly at the door to Draco's room. "He must be hungry. I mean, he skipped lunch, so..."

Al took a few steps toward the door and was about to knock, but Ed quickly moved to stop him, taking hold of his wrist. The younger Elric was about to protest, but the solemn look on Ed's face was so surprising that he didn't say a word.

"Don't," he told Al softly. "He'll come down when he wants to come down."

He then released Al's wrist and resumed his walk toward the staircase. Al watched him for a moment, stunned. Most of the time, Edward was even harder to understand than Alphonse, in spite of the fact that _he _was the one with a human face. It was never easy to tell what was going on in that head of his. The only thing that Al knew for sure was that, no matter what, when Ed was being _that _serious, he had no choice but to trust him.

With a deep, reverberating sigh, Al stole another glance at Draco's door before moving to follow his older brother.

* * *

As promised, their Christmas dinner was a true feast. The table was filled with just about every Christmas recipe ever made, the prized centerpiece being the biggest roast turkey Ed had ever seen in his life. There were actually several turkeys in the spread, but the one in the center dwarfed all the others. There were cakes and other goodies scattered amongst the platters of roast potatoes and vegetables, prime ribs, stuffed pork loin roast, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and gravy, several different kinds of pudding (some with brandy butter, others without), and tons of other dishes that looked and smelled incredible. 

Ed didn't hesitate to dig in. He loved the food so much that he almost considered thanking the colonel for making Al wake him, but he thought better of it. Al gathered some food as well, saving them for Ed to eat later, but desperately wishing that he could at least have a taste. Yet once again, Draco seemed to have no appetite. He came down to the meal late, which earned him a mild scolding from his mother, and spent the majority of his time at the table just picking at the food on his plate with a fork and knife. Though it seemed like he was trying his best to disguise it, Draco looked even more sullen than he was that morning. Roy shot Ed a meaningful look, at which Ed gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

The attempt at normalcy on Draco's behalf was fairly impressive. He remained at the table until everyone was finished and even managed to lap up almost half of what was on his plate. But his presence on their way upstairs was putting a damper on Al's cheerful mood. The entire walk was silent and awkward. Al was too nervous to try to start up a conversation. Ed had his own reasons for remaining silent, as did Draco.

As they drew nearer to their rooms, Draco's pace increased. He strode more quickly toward his room, flung open the door and quickly slammed it shut behind him. Al flinched slightly, glancing up at one of the lamps that dangled from the ceiling as it shook slightly with the impact of the door. He then sighed, looking at Ed.

"Nii-san-"

"I've been with _you _all day, don't go thinkin' I've done something to him."

Al was taken aback slightly, but kept himself quiet as he moved toward their door. Ed kept his eyes on the ground, lost in his own thoughts. Then suddenly, he caught sight of a crumpled slip of parchment sticking out from under Draco's bedroom door. He walked over to it, bending down to pull it out from where it was wedged. It must have gotten stuck there when Draco slammed his door shut.

"Nii-san?"

Ed carefully smoothed the parchment out as he straightened to his full height. It was covered in ink, a long note or letter that was written in what Ed immediately recognized to be Draco's handwriting. Harsh, yet elegant looking strokes that was most likely the result of years of proper high society upbringing. The ink was blotched slightly in some places and some words had been blacked out, but it was still legible. And so Ed began to read:

_I must have started a hundred letters to you, never knowing how to begin. I have sat like this one too many times in some illusion of glory, with a quill in hand and numerous crumpled pieces of parchment scattered across my bedroom floor. I hold my breath as I write each word, wondering why each one of them seems to give me so much grief. I must be foolish in thinking that somehow writing this would bring me closer to you. Hell, I don't deserve to be closer to you. You owe me nothing and I am nothing to you. I'm just an image, a representation, an epitome of your rage and anger, where all your frustration and fears turn me into something of meaning to you. But that's all I'll ever be. You hate me…and I don't blame you. Merlin knows I deserve that. But I'm not asking for your sympathy. I don't need pity nor do I need compassion, least of all from you. I don't write this expecting something - some miracle. I don't believe in them. Not anymore._

_There are so many things I want to say to you; so many things that you need to know. I wish I could tell you that I never meant to cause you so much pain, that I am not the person you think I am, that I can be someone who…but I lack the courage. I am such a coward because I know that I meant every single word of that. I am so much of a goddamned coward that I hide behind the mask of the person I should have been, the ideas I should have believed, the misleading uncertainties and irrational fears that was supposed to be me. But now, I don't even have the slightest clue who I am. I have spent so many years being this one person; this thing that I hated beyond belief but have never stopped being. I can never be the person to make you smile, make you laugh, evoke any positive feeling out of you. I can never be the person who would protect you, who would stand up for you, who would love you…_

_No, I am not that person. No matter how much I wish I were, how much I pray for it everyday, but I cannot be that person for you. Those privileges were never meant for people like me. I don't know what love is. I am not sure I have even experienced it. I just know that when I look at you, hear your voice, catch your scent, or even when I allow my mind the slightest thought of you, I get a feeling that is so agonizing yet incredibly invigorating at the same time. And I hate you for it. That is probably the only thing that I have been honest about. I hate you. I do. I hate you for being of Muggle heritage, I hate you for being my rival's best friend, I hate you for making me feel things I know I shouldn't be feeling, especially for someone like you. It goes against everything I have ever thought and have ever believed in. With you, nothing in my life makes sense anymore. I can't even make sense in my own mind anymore._

_Do you think that I brought this kind of insanity upon myself? That I haven't tried to stop it, tried to hold it back, tried to deny it, tried fervently convincing myself over and over and over again that this was nothing; that this whole madness would pass? This is all your bloody fault, you know that. If you had never entered my life, if you had never existed in the first place, none of these things would have happened. I would have never endured all the anguish, the suffering, the sorrow of wanting something I could never have. I would have never displayed disloyalty to my family, be betrayed by my own thoughts, or felt guilt of wanting to be someone that I'm not._

_But, then again, I would never have experienced so much contentment, so much freedom, and so much happiness even for just one blissful moment. But it drives me insane to know how wrong it is to feel that way. Happiness is something I cannot afford to feel. It rules against my family's ideals of duty, obligation, and honour. And I don't know what gives you any right to make me realize that there are far more important things than that. And all you had to do was to be your damned noble self. I hate you for doing this to me, but most of all I hate you for taking away all logic and all reason from the world I thought I knew. Yet, in my strange revelation, I never knew that the person I despised so much was the same person I so longed to be with._

_However, we can never be together…and I have to live with that knowledge every single day of my life. I know you will always feel nothing but hatred towards me. And I know you long to be with someone else. You will never be laughing with me the way you laugh with him, you will never seek comfort in me the way you seek comfort in him, and you will never look at me the way you look at him. It kills me to know that you are exactly who you should be with. But deep down, I know he doesn't deserve you. Every time he ignores you, every time he takes you for granted, there is only so much keeping me from killing him with my bare hands. I know that he will never appreciate you the way I do. Despite all of that, I know that you will never be able to see past the mask I have worn for all of these years._

_I can no longer protect you for I have placed you in a very dangerous position. Others, who have the ability to hurt many, have found out about my feelings towards you. They believe that you have become a threat to me and to them and they will do everything in their power to stop you. I can't let that happen, I have to end this. I can only say I'm sorry so many times. I want you to know that I never meant for this to happen but I should have expected it, instead of letting my selfishness and foolishness consume me. At the beginning of the year, I was assigned something that will without a doubt hurt you and everyone you care about. But I have no choice. If I refuse or if I fail to do it, the only person that I have left in the world will die because of it. And if I succeed, I will never forgive myself if I hurt you once again._

_The fear that is gripping my heart for most of these days is the possibility that you may die. It is funny how much I have denied the existence of having a heart until I felt it breaking. I know I shouldn't care, I know you should mean nothing to me, and I should just focus on the job at hand, but every time I do it I am slowly dying inside. The thought of you lifeless, dead - I can't even begin to imagine it. Life will go on, the world would continue spinning, but the one thing that made me feel alive, even for a short while, would be gone for good. You'll never know how much you've saved me from this hateful person I've become and from the raging lies and fear that I was fed over and over again. But, despite that, I cannot stop what I'm doing. No matter how much it is killing me. Why does our world have to be so full of prejudices and discrimination? Why does everything that surrounds us have to be so complicated and conflicted? When can we finally break through and find freedom, looking beyond what our world deems most vital? When will I find a way to ever be with you?_

_You will probably never get to read this or many of the other letters that I have written. However, this is the last and final one that I would ever write to you. I know I said that I don't know what love is, but I don't know how to explain it any other way. I promised myself that for once in my life, I would tell the truth. I would stop denying everything I say or do; it will never prove anything and that is not fair to you. So, as I end this, without you ever knowing how strongly I felt for you, all the pain and pleasure you have given me, the prison and sanctuary I found in you, it has finally become clear to me. And I need to say it before all courage fails me again._

_I love you, Hermione Granger._

_Goodbye forever,  
Draco_

Ed blinked, more than a little stunned by what he'd just finished reading. His eyebrows coming together in confusion, he quickly scanned through the letter again.

It was a confession. No, it was a warning. Or was it both?

It was tragic. That's what it was, really. And as Ed's eyes reviewed each line, he began to wonder if the blotches of ink were tears. Draco Malfoy's tears. Ed shook his head vigorously, frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, the image was still hard to form in his mind, much less be accepted.

"Nii-san, what's wrong?"

The sound of Al's voice immediately pulled Ed out of his thoughts. He turned slightly so that he was looking at Al over his shoulder and plastered a sheepish smile across his face.

"It's nothing, Al," he assured him.

"Are you sure?"

He turned around and walked across the hall, stuffing his hands into his pockets and smiling at his younger brother. "Positive! By the way, Al, I don't think I got to greet you, so... Merry Christmas!"

"H-Huh? Oh, Merry Christmas to you, too."

"I'll send you a present later. Anything in particular that you wanted?"

"Oh! Really? Well, um..."

"No cats."

Al sighed dejectedly, swinging the door to their room shut. Before it was closed all the way, Ed cast one last look at Draco's door, hiding a frown. His fingers slowly curled around a ball of parchment in his pocket.

* * *

**  
Author's Note**: bwahahaha, the angst continues. there's also a lot of mood swinging in this chapter. mostly 'cause Ed's doing a lot of covering up for Draco… he's been at the bottom of the valley of despair before, so he knows well enough to give Draco some time to recover and some room to breathe. just as a note about when Ed was all depressed and stuff, that's some more manga stuff. when Mustang first saw Ed, he was sitting in a wheelchair dressed in these big clothes, staring down into his lap or at the floor, and he didn't say a single word the entire time Mustang was there. and then there's Draco's letter… 

OKAY. Draco's amazingly dramatic, heartfelt, and otherwise fantastically written letter was not written by me. It was written by CSAG's godparent, _MJade-1_. She has also uploaded it to as a separate story in the Harry Potter category. I probably have a few readers who came across that letter beforehand and got directed to CSAG, so I would like to greet those people now (assuming that they've stuck it out all the way through the story so far). HELLO! If you've made it this far, then many thanks and I really hope you're enjoying this story and aren't confused by the FMAness.

EDIT: just in case anyone is wondering why Draco wrote that letter, it's because he just needs to get those thoughts and feelings out of his system. it's a fairly common practice for someone to write a letter to someone and not send it, just as a way to let it all out.


	19. Mission Objectives

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
_by hikaranko_**

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do NOT own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere near as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They _rule_. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **heehee, thanks again for all the support and reviews! I hope you're all still keeping up with this story. :) I wanna apologize to everyone that got a chapter 19 update alert last week. That was an accident. But here's the real chapter 19 for you guys. Enjoy!

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_**Chapter 19**_  
**Mission Objectives**

Damn it. Damn it all to hell and back. Ed was getting tired of running into all these weird twists and turns, complications for what _should _have been a simple mission. And worse, it was far too late for him to get out of it.

That letter that he found. The thought of it had been haunting him for the past few days. Its contents had been floating around in his mind, lingering at the back of his thoughts like some horrible nightmare. He didn't know what to do about it. If it was a warning, he should give it to its intended recipient. But if it was a love letter, then it was a little more complicated than that.

But didn't Hermione deserve to know all those things? His confessions, his apologies... should Hermione know? And what about Draco? Didn't he deserve a little bit of redemption and hope? And more importantly... Why the hell did Ed find himself caught in the middle of all this?

"Nii-san, you sure you mentioned everything in your report?"

Ed was suddenly snapped out of his reverie, the scowl on his face disappearing as he turned to look at Al who was walking beside him. His thoughts returned to the present and he remembered what he was doing. Taking the ever long walk to see Mustang. _That _was always fun. He looked down at the stack of papers in the folder in his hands and frowned. He mentally went over some of the things that were entailed in the report.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure of it, Al."

"But didn't you say that there were certain things that you still needed to-"

"Would you quit worrying about that already? It's all covered!"

"But _nii-san_! You told me yourself that you started makings things up!"

"Gimme a break, Al. It's not like they know anything about magic and wizards."

"But if you get caught-"

The state alchemist grinned evilly. "If I don't get caught, I won't get caught."

"_Nii-san_."

His grin only broadened as he stretched his limbs out. Stupid assessment report. He had forgotten all about writing it since Al arrived. Only when he saw the stack of papers, lying face up on his desk amidst several stacks of books and stopped in mid-sentence did he remember. Al had been nice enough to calm him down and help him with it. It became his job to go through Ed's books and search for anything useful that could be used while Ed worked on writing the actual report out.

It was a twenty-something page long report about his findings on magic, including a few things he'd needed to make up to fill in some holes and make it sound more scientific and believable. He knew all too well how skeptical those higher-ups were going to be. And he didn't tell Al, but the report also included a few vague notes on the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. That helped link things back to his initial research.

He didn't include any details concerning his mission. Ed's mission had very little to do with any research of any kind, and the higher ups back in Central didn't need to know anything of it.

His mission. Watching over Draco. Making sure he didn't do anything stupid. But it was too late for that now, wasn't it? If only he'd been assigned to this mission earlier. If only he'd been able to keep Draco from accepting the job he'd been given - even though he still didn't know what that job was (he made a mental note to find out at all costs). If only he'd known about Draco's feelings for Hermione from the beginning.

But why did he care so much? Why was he investing so much into this whole situation?

"Nii-san, are you okay?"

Ed looked up, coming back out of his daze. "Huh? Oh... yeah, I'm fine, Al."

Al looked at his brother worriedly. "Um... all right. If you say so."

It wasn't long before the Elric brothers finally came to a stop, finding themselves in front of a large wooden door. It led into what Mustang had claimed as his "temporary" office and the headquarters for their mission and duties. The owls from Amestris had learned to only deliver their letters to that room and that room alone, not to anywhere else in Malfoy manor.

Al rapped gently on the door. "Colonel? Are you in?"

"Come in."

Ed barely waited for Al to finish knocking before throwing the doors open. He scowled at the colonel, who was standing by one of the bookshelves and was busy examining its contents.

"I'm surprised you're actually in here and not off with Narcissa. Five months in and you're already tired of banging the same woman every night?"

The colonel glared at Ed, but before he could say anything back, Ed threw his folder onto the desk with a loud slap. Mustang raised an eyebrow at the folder and the papers that were starting to spill out of it. He then walked over and picked it up, quickly rummaging through its contents.

"What's this, Fullmetal?"

"My assessment report," Ed snapped, itching to leave. "Damn thing took a long time to finish."

Roy looked up at Ed, confused. After a moment he smirked, closing his eyes and replacing the folder on top of the desk. "Did I not tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"About your assessment. This-" He tapped his fingers on the folder for emphasis. "-was no longer necessary."

Ed's eye twitched. "_What_?"

"I contacted Central headquarters, informing them of your long-term mission. I requested for this year's assessment to be waived since your mission requires you to take a break from your research and your duties as a state alchemist. They've granted the request, surprisingly without much argument. Seems like they've really taken a liking to you, Fullmetal."

"Yeah, whoop-dee-doo," Ed growled, his auto-mail hand clenched into a fist. "Woulda been nice to know that _before _I finished the fucking thing!"

"Well then, since you've gone through the trouble of writing it, I suppose I'll keep this for now. It could be useful someday. And I'd also like to know about this 'magic' you've been learning." The colonel picked up the file again and began to quickly skim through it. "Seems intriguing."

"So then why didn't _you _go on the damn mission?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm too tall, charming, and attractive to pass for a student."

Ed clenched his teeth, glaring angrily at his superior officer. The malicious aura radiating off of Ed's body was making Al uncomfortable. Mustang seemed to be used to it and continued to ignore the pair of golden eyes that burned with seething hatred. A low growl escaped Ed's throat. Oh, how Mustang would live to pay for all the humiliation... Not only him, but all those bastards back at that magic school, too...

"And as I said before, no one else in the military is as small as you."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A SUPER MIDGET THAT MAKES YOU WANNA STEP ON HIM?"

"Nii-san, no one's saying any of that!"

The colonel smirked. "Well, Fullmetal, I guess you're dismissed for now. See you at dinner."

The Fullmetal Alchemist snorted and spun back around on his heel, gesturing with a nod of his head for Al to follow him. Grumbling angrily under his breath, he jammed his hands into his pockets... Where his fingers touched a folded up piece of parchment.

He stopped abruptly, all traces of his rage lost.

"Colonel."

Both Alphonse and Colonel Mustang were shocked by the sudden change in Ed's demeanor. Roy lowered the folder in his hands to the desk and looked at Ed solemnly. The small blonde turned slightly to look at Mustang out of the corner of one golden eye.

"There's something I want to talk to you about."

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"It's about... About that Harry Potter kid."

The colonel was silent for a moment. "What about him?"

Ed hesitated before speaking again. "I was reading some old newspaper articles and... his name kept popping up. The events of the Triwizard Tournament... That whole prophecy thing... Being targeted by Voldemort..."

"Your point being?"

"Shouldn't... Shouldn't someone be watching him? Some sort of... bodyguard for him-" He took a deep breath. "-and his friends?"

There was another moment of silence before Mustang replied. "You had better not be asking to be reassigned to protect Harry Potter."

"I'm not. I was just thinking that someone should be around to watch him. Or maybe get Professor Dumbledore to tighten security around the castle or something."

Mustang sighed. "Fullmetal, I know all about Harry Potter. The headmaster was kind enough to fill me in on that matter and believe me when I say that they've already done just that."

"But what if it's not enough? There should be someone _right there _to watch them, the way I'm watching Draco." The colonel sighed again and was about to speak, but Ed quickly cut him off, turning all the way around and narrowing his eyes. "What if I have reason to believe Harry Potter and his friends are in more danger than you think?"

There was a tense silence, throughout which Al constantly looked at his brother, then at the colonel, then back at his brother. It was because of this type of very nerve wracking silence that he chose not to be around when Ed spoke business with the colonel. Usually, he waited somewhere else until they were finished. The two state alchemists firmly held each other's gaze, neither one of them moving an inch. At length, the colonel shut his eyes and turned toward the bookshelves.

"Harry Potter," he said firmly, "is none of your concern, Fullmetal. He's lasted almost six years without any outside help, so he can obviously handle himself."

"But...!"

"However, if it'll put your mind at ease, I'll speak with the headmaster and see if there's any way to bring in one more guard, though I can't guarantee anything. Understood?"

Ed fell silent, wrapping his fingers around the slip of parchment in his pocket. He looked down at the floor, tightly clenching his jaw. Sure it was understood, but he wasn't sure whether or not that would be good enough. Protecting Harry Potter was all very good and nice, but the young wizard could take care of himself just fine. Ed _knew _that. But it wasn't Harry that needed the extra protection.

Al looked worriedly at his brother. "Nii...san...?"

"Fine," Ed said at length, in a firm, soft voice. "Understood."

"Good. From here on, I don't want to hear another word out of you about this. That's an order."

Ed snorted in response. He turned back around sharply on his heel, but before he reached the door, Mustang stopped him.

"By the way, Fullmetal... Why do you suddenly care so much for these wizards?"

The young alchemist halted in his tracks. He smiled bitterly. "I've been asking myself that same question," he muttered.

He then opened the door and headed out of the office. Al hesitated before following, taking a moment to bow slightly toward the colonel. Mustang watched them leave, waiting for the door to shut all the way. He then slumped back into his seat, gingerly massaging his temple as he turned his attention on Ed's assessment report. He already knew it was half lies.

**_-------------------_**

The New Year came and went without too much fuss. Narcissa, Draco, and Roy all went off to someone else's New Year's party, leaving Ed and Al behind to "house-sit" the mansion with the house-elves. Not that Edward really cared; he was sick of parties by now and had no intention to allow his fan club to grow any more. The attention was nice (in a way), but it felt sort of similar to being on the run from Scar. He found out later from Roy that his fan club had indeed showed up at the party and spent a good deal of time searching for him.

Everyone spent the next few days just relaxing in whatever ways they wanted to. Draco was a little less out of it than he'd been the week before; sometimes he could be seen walking around the manor. Al was still worried about the glazed look in his eyes, but Ed insisted that he was getting better if he'd found the will power to move about. The Elric brothers, as usual, spent their time either sparring or studying. Al's interest in magic had come to a peak, so Ed had taken it upon himself to try and teach his kid brother the basics. They started with Potions since Al didn't have a wand and because Charms and Transfiguration still made Ed rather nervous.

Before long, it was high time for Ed and Draco to return to Hogwarts. They'd been notified of a new safety measure that had been taken by the Ministry, and so all the students were to use the Floo Network to get back to the school grounds. When Ed asked why they couldn't do that usually, he got chided for not realizing just how much of a security breach that would be.

Ed stared apprehensively at the living room fireplace. He wasn't very sure he wanted to do this again. He knew that it was fast and convenient (not to mention pretty damn amazing), but it made his stomach twist into knots. It looked like Draco was going to step into the fireplace first, though at the moment he and his mother were exchanging goodbyes. Though Draco had always treated his mother more tenderly than he did anyone else, he seemed to have been much nicer to her over the last week than usual. Ed dimly recalled his indifference when they were boarding the train at the beginning of the year, but compared to the hint of sadness that now lingered in his silver eyes...

As Draco stepped into the fireplace (with a forlorn Narcissa watching him and dabbing at the corners of her eyes), Ed pushed the thought out of his mind and turned to Al. The tall suit of armor was standing next to him, very obviously confused (but fascinated) as he watched Draco get consumed by the green flames. Ed could hardly help but smile amusedly at his younger brother. He knew exactly how he felt. He then knocked on Al's armor, drawing his attention back to him.

"Take care of yourself, all right?"

"Oh... Yeah," Al said brightly as he turned around. "You too, nii-san. Stay out of trouble."

Ed grinned. "And when do I _ever _get in trouble? You know me, Al. I like a quiet life."

Al laughed softly and shook his head. "Of course."

Mustang walked over to Ed, nodding toward the fireplace. "Your turn, Edward."

The young alchemist nodded at his superior officer and bent down to pick up his things. He threw a light, playful punch at Al before doing as instructed, hesitantly moving forward. Ed took a deep breath. He was about to step into a fireplace, get swallowed by emerald flames, get spun around a bunch of times, and land right back in Hogwarts. Magic was weird.

"Don't forget to write," Al called, making his brother stop and look back.

He smiled. "I won't."

"Just say 'Hogwarts,'" Mustang instructed. "You should end up in your house's common room."

"Got it." Then, tightening his hold on his suitcase, Ed took the final step onto the fireplace's threshold and into the emerald fire. "See ya!"

Then, as clearly and precisely as he could, Ed shouted "Hogwarts!" Exactly as he predicted, the bright green flames completely engulfed him and the world began to spin very fast before his eyes, just like last time. It wasn't long before he found himself in a different fireplace, his clothes now covered in ash and soot. He coughed, waving his hand in front of him in an attempt to fan the cloud of ash out of his way. This hadn't exactly happened last time. Maybe the Malfoy family kept their fireplaces immaculately clean while whoever owned _this _one could have cared less.

Ed cast around the room in search of a familiar face, brushing himself off with his free hand. He didn't recognize this place. For a fleeting moment, he was panic-stricken. Had he somehow mispronounced "Hogwarts"? It didn't seem likely, but Ed was pretty sure that this was not the fireplace in the Slytherin common room. Where the hell was he?

Within moments, someone threw open the door and blew into the room, looking an awful lot like a giant bat as he did so. Ed narrowed his eyes at the figure. Severus Snape. A familiar face, true enough, though not a particularly well-liked one. So much for his good mood.

Snape sneered slightly as he looked at the small, soot-covered figure standing in his fireplace. "Playing around in the dust now, are we, Mr. Elric?"

Ed frowned and started to clamber out over the grate. Oh well. At least he was definitely in Hogwarts. Snape's sneer turned back into his usual scowl as he reached over, grabbed Ed by the collar, and roughly yanked him out of the fireplace.

"You were meant to arrive in the Slytherin common room."

"And yet," Ed jeered, "I've somehow wound up here with _you_. Not exactly ideal, trust me."

Snape's scowl grew even sourer as he released Ed from his grasp. "Try not to track any ash across my floor as you leave."

The blonde Slytherin threw Snape a dirty look as he grabbed up his suitcase. Then, flicking his ash covered braid over his shoulder, Ed made a show of stomping across the room and out the door, dusting himself off and otherwise taking great care to leave as much ash and soot as possible in his wake.

"THAT'S THREE WEEKS DETENTION, MR. ELRIC," Snape yelled after him angrily, "FOR DISRESPECTING YOUR HEAD OF HOUSE."

Ed couldn't help but snicker. He didn't really mind the punishment. At least he'd managed to have a little fun upon arrival.

It took him a while to regain his bearings of the school. He hadn't realized at first that the room he'd ended up in was somewhere in Snape's quarters. He didn't know there was a fireplace in there. Then again, he'd never actually been in there before. Ed made his way back to the Slytherin common room, where he found Draco, Blaise, and one of the Crabbe/Goyles lounging about. It looked like Blaise was trying to pester something out of Draco, but the boy didn't give an inch. He just sat on the couch with his arms folded, staring into the fire.

Ed glared at the blazing fire. Maybe _that _was why he'd ended up in Snape's office instead of in the common room. Since a fire was roaring there, the path was blocked and the Floo Network had to find an alternate landing place for the incoming students. He wondered if Draco had started it, since he was probably still pretty keen on getting rid of him.

"You should put out that fire," he said bluntly, crossing the room and heading for the dorms. Everyone's heads snapped up, surprised at the sound of Ed's voice. "There are gonna be other students arriving and that fire's in the way. Otherwise they're gonna end up in Snape's room, and I've got a feeling they're not gonna like that. _Especially _not with the mood he's in right now."

Zabini let out a small, disappointed groan. "Aw, bloody hell. You were supposed to pop out here in the middle of the fire and let us laugh at you!"

_'So it wasn't Malfoy.'_ Ed smirked slightly and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, well, that sure backfired on ya, didn't it?"

An expression that was somewhere between a pout and a scowl now marred Zabini's features.

"Snape's in a bad mood?" asked Crabbe/Goyle.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Isn't he _always_ in a bad mood? But then again..." A small, evil grin danced on Ed's lips. "...I guess I had somethin' to do with it this time."

Before anyone could ask what happened, Ed ducked into the dorm and tossed his suitcase onto his bed. He thought he heard Zabini ask Draco why Ed seemed so cheerful while he started to unpack, using alchemy to reopen his trunk. He quickly looked over its contents, just to make sure it hadn't been rummaged through (there were mission related things in there, after all). He grabbed his auto-mail kit, buried it amongst the other things inside the trunk, hastily tossed in everything else, and then shut the lid. Ed stretched his limbs out before heading back out into the common room to face his room mates.

The new term officially began the next day. Ed dragged himself out of the bed and into the bathroom to change before the others woke up. He already missed being able to sleep in. As soon as he was changed into the school robes (he'd actually had to change his clothes twice, since the first time he'd instinctively pulled on his usual clothes), he headed into the common room, where everyone discovered a sign that had been put up on the notice board.

**APPARITION LESSONS**  
If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st of August next,  
you are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor.  
Please sign below if you would like to participate.  
_Cost: 12 Galleons._

Even though it was still early, there was a surprisingly large group of eager students crowded around the sign. Everyone who had already read the notice (with the exception of all the younger students) was chattering excitedly about it. Ed made a face at the sign. He wasn't interested in Apparition lessons. If he really wanted to, he'd probably be able to learn on his own. He didn't like the idea of having to learn from some uptight official from the Ministry after coughing up twelve galleons. Ed snorted disapprovingly and turned back on his heel, only to crash straight into Zabini.

"Apparition lessons!" he breathed, obviously just as excited as everyone else. "About bloody time! I was wondering when they were getting around to this!"

Ed shot the tall Slytherin an annoyed look. "Lemme through, Zabini."

Zabini looked down at Ed amusedly. "What are _you _so upset about? Are you not going to turn seventeen before August 31st?"

"No, I will. But I'm not interested in these lessons, so move over."

"What?" Zabini was shocked. "But... It's _Apparition_, mate! Everyone wants to know how to Apparate!"

Ed rolled his eyes. How wonderful. It was a verb, too. "Not _everyone_, obviously. Count me out."

"How can you _not _want to learn to Apparate? It's by far _the coolest thing _anyone can learn to do! To go from one place to another just like that, in an _instant_!"

He heaved an exasperated sigh. "Sure I'll admit it's useful, and I could definitely go without having my ass rooted to one spot on a train for hours or even _days _at a time-"

"_What_?"

"But it just doesn't make sense! How the hell would a spell like that even _work_? Transporting your body from one place to another, moving instantaneously through space... Do you have any idea how many natural laws that breaks? I'm willing to bet that there are a million things that could go wrong just _trying_. For cryin' out loud, _time travel _is more likely than that! _(1)_"

"Erm, Elric, what rock have you-"

"The only way I can even _think _to explain how something like this works would be... traveling through an alternate dimension by entering some kind of wormhole _(2)_. Even then, it would still be required to find an _open _wormhole or vortex or whatever. And the chances of that, by the way, look an awful lot like slim to none."

"Elric?"

"Unless it was possible for someone to open wormholes at will, which is _highly _improbable and _extremely _dangerous, considering no one knows what would happen if wormholes just opened left and right. For all we know, that could be tantamount to ripping the fabric of reality! And this is all under the assumption that there even _are _alternate dimensions that can be traveled through, and there's no telling _what _we might find in one..." He trailed off, his eyebrows knitting together as his expression hardened thoughtfully.

For a moment, Zabini just stared blankly at him. "I have absolutely _no _idea what you're on about."

Ed threw his hands up in the air. "Of course you don't."

Blaise gave Ed a weird look and then shook his head. "Y'know, I think you've been hanging around too many Muggles lately. They've obviously infected your brain. In case you'd forgotten, Elric, we're in a _magic _school."

Ed's face fell slightly. _'Oops.' _"R-Right..."

"So... You going to sign up, or what?"

"Were you not listening to me? _No_."

"Aw, come on, Elric," he said teasingly. "Don't let the Muggles' logic get to you!"

He reached over with a quill to sign his name on the bottom of the sign. He then turned to Ed, offering the quill to him. Ed just stared at it with an annoyed, disgruntled expression on his face, making no move to take it from him. Zabini pulled a face and turned back around.

"All right then, I'll do it for you."

He started to scribble Ed's name beneath his. Ed's eyes went wide.

"HEY! _NO_! GIMME THAT!"

Ed tried to snatch the quill out of Zabini's hand and stop him, but the tall Slytherin planted one hand securely on Ed's forehead, which very effectively held him back at arm's length. Only when he was finished did he release Ed, but he was no longer struggling. The small blonde was frozen, staring in utter horror and rage (mostly rage, actually) at his own name, scrawled hastily on the bottom of the sign amongst dozens of other names. Would they be able to tell if it wasn't his handwriting? They were wizards! Wasn't there some way to recognize this act of fraud through magic?

He slowly turned around, fuming silently as he searched for signs of Zabini. Unfortunately for Ed (and rather fortunately for Blaise), he couldn't see him anywhere. He shoved his fists into his pockets and pushed his way out of the small crowd of Slytherins that had gathered. He made up his mind to erase his name once everyone was gone. But by the time Ed and the others got back from breakfast, the sign - along with all the names of everyone who wanted the lessons - had already been taken away.

Which set Ed's first official day back at Hogwarts on a complete downward spiral. He had almost been looking forward to going back. His pseudo-lessons with Al proved to him that he still had a lot more to learn and some part of Al's enthusiasm for magic must have rubbed off on him a little. But somewhere between his newfound burning desire to break Zabini's nose and his detention with Snape, he remembered why he could never quite bring himself to truly like it at Hogwarts.

And this was just ridiculous. Scrubbing the classroom clean with a _toothbrush_? No using magic? Every single day for three whole weeks? Ed scrubbed violently at a spot on the floor, muttering under his breath about slave drivers and oversensitive, greasy-haired maniacs.

Making Snape mad was definitely not one of his better ideas, he'd decided. Even though it was fun to do (Ed couldn't help but laugh to himself at the memory), it probably wasn't worth this waste of time. Every night, from nine o'clock to midnight, he was sentenced to magic-less classroom scrubbing. He could deal with it, but damn, how he hated it. Mustang wasn't going to be happy to hear about how his time to watch over Draco had gotten severely cut into by a teacher who had problems with getting ash on his _stone floor_.

Either way, he was stuck with Snape's detention. Stuck with the professor in the DADA classroom with an excruciatingly heavy air hovering over them. After about an hour and a half of non-stop scrubbing, the movement had become almost automatic and Ed barely even had to think about it. He used his auto-mail arm so he wouldn't get worn out by the repetitive motion and spent a lot of time thinking. He thought about magic, the Philosopher's Stone, his mission... pretty much anything that came to mind. As the clock finally began to approach midnight, Ed stole a glance at Snape, sitting comfortably at his desk and going over papers (likely trying to fail as many Gryffindors as he could in the process). Then suddenly, a thought hit Ed rightly over the head.

Severus Snape. Why hadn't he thought of this before? For all of last term, Ed had been so focused on following Draco around and trying to figure out what he was doing that he'd forgotten all about investigating Snape. Of course, it hadn't helped that Draco's frequent disappearances had been keeping him on his toes. True enough, Mustang had gotten Hughes and a portion of the investigation department to pull out whatever information they could get on him, but Ed knew that it was always good to have a backup plan. For all they knew, Severus Snape wasn't his real name, or he'd already gone and erased his background information.

And the timing couldn't have been better. With Draco still in that bizarre funk of his, Ed probably wouldn't have to do too much spying on him until he was completely recovered.

Ed grinned at the professor. Snape glanced up from the papers, noticing the look on his face, and glared at him.

"And just _what _do you find so amusing, Mr. Elric?"

"Nothing, sir," he said in a cheerful voice, turning back to his scrubbing. "Nothing at all."

Snape wasn't convinced, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. As the professor returned his attention to the papers in front of him, the door to the classroom opened. Both of the room's occupants looked up to see Professor Dumbledore in the entranceway, surveying the room as though it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Good evening, Severus," he said kindly, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Evening, Headmaster," Snape replied, straightening slightly in his seat.

Dumbledore looked down at Ed, who had momentarily paused in his scrubbing to look up at him, and smiled genially.

"Ah, Edward! I though I might find you here. Severus..." He turned back to Snape. "I wonder if I could have a word with Mr. Elric?"

Ed's eyebrows came together. _'With me? What's going on?'_

Snape appeared to be thinking for a moment and then nodded gravely. "Yes, of course, Headmaster." He then turned to Ed. "Mr. Elric, I expect you to return back to me immediately after."

He was about to protest against this since it was almost midnight anyway, but quickly decided against angering Snape any further. So Ed just nodded at the professor and obediently rose to his feet. He fiddled with the toothbrush in his hand for a moment, not sure whether or not he should leave it behind or take it with him.

"Come with me, Edward," said Dumbledore, using that soft yet firm tone that just barely implied an order.

Ed obeyed and, quickly placing the toothbrush on a nearby desk, followed the headmaster out the classroom door. They walked silently toward Dumbledore's office, though Ed thought he could hear Dumbledore humming something softly to himself. They eventually reached the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to his office. Dumbledore murmured the password and led Ed up the spiral staircase as the gargoyle moved aside. Once inside his office, the headmaster gestured for Ed to sit in one of the chairs while he moved around to take his place behind his desk.

"Please, Edward, take a seat."

He did so slowly, more than a little confused. "Sir, is anything wrong?"

"Oh, no," Dumbledore assured him with a slow shake of his head. He began to rummage through some of the papers on his desk. "Nothing's wrong, Edward. I just received word from your colonel. I am under the impression that you want someone from your unit assigned to watch over Mr. Potter."

Ed lowered his gaze. "Oh. Right. I did put in that request..."

"Well, I understand your desire for more security," the headmaster went on, "but I assure you, Harry is well out of harm's way here at Hogwarts."

"Yes, but I think I'd be a lot more comfortable knowing that he was under more constant surveillance. I..." He took a deep breath. "I think I know what he's like, sir. He's the type of person to look for loopholes in security and do what he feels he has to do."

The young alchemist shifted his weight uncomfortably, fully aware of how familiar that sounded. Professor Dumbledore smiled amusedly.

"Perhaps. After all, he does have a certain disregard for the rules." Here he chuckled softly and then turned to look intently at Edward. "However, Mr. Elric, I don't believe that your concern for extra security is solely based on Harry."

Something inside Ed jumped involuntarily. The old wizard was as frighteningly perceptive as ever. Ed forced himself to smile and laughed, hoping that it wouldn't give away how nervous he was.

"W-What do you mean, sir? What makes you say that?"

Dumbledore's blue eyes were twinkling behind his half-moon glasses. "Just a hunch." He then leaned forward slightly on his desk, clasping his hands in front of him. "I'm sure you're already well aware that Harry is well protected. The only reason for you to suggest more surveillance is if you are under the impression that someone else is not."

"Sir," Ed said, his smile faltering slightly under the headmaster's intent gaze, "who else apart from Harry Potter would be under any immediate danger? I just thought it would be better for everyone if security around H... him specifically was a little tighter."

"I should ask you the very same question, Edward," the professor said, the tone in his voice still as gentle yet prodding as ever. "I want you to know that I already approved the request for backup. I just wonder, who exactly is this request based upon?"

By now, the smile Ed had plastered across his face was gone. The state alchemist just looked back at the headmaster, studying the features of his face. He couldn't help but wonder if this was a good idea. He knew this man could be trusted - he could feel that deep in his gut - but he wasn't comfortable with giving away something that was obviously very personal to Draco. After a long moment of mental debate, Ed averted his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Fine... I actually... It's not Harry I'm worried about."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "No?"

"No, sir... I can tell that he's very capable and can look out for himself."

"Then who is your concern placed upon?"

Ed glanced up at Dumbledore, hesitating once again to allow him a moment to think. "I came across some information that... Hermione Granger's life may be under threat."

"Miss Granger?"

He nodded in response.

"Any reason as to why?"

There was another pause before Ed went on. "This is only speculation, but I think she's somehow linked to Draco Malfoy. She... I'm not sure how, exactly, but..." He took a deep breath, straightening out his thoughts. "Whatever the link is, this would mean that she becomes of concern with my mission, as I'm sure you can tell. I believe she needs to be looked after just as much as Draco does. I'd be willing to do it myself, but... I can't deter from my mission priority."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore looked at Ed for a moment longer, giving him a very distinct feeling that the old wizard's eyes were penetrating him. He then smiled again and leaned back in his chair. "Very well, then, Edward. I'm glad you confided in me. You may go."

Ed was somewhat startled by this abrupt dismissal, but knew better than to argue. He swiftly got to his feet and bowed toward the headmaster.

"Thank you, sir."

As he turned to go, Ed stole a glance at one of the time-telling clocks that decorated the office. It was a little past midnight now, but he still had to return to Snape's room to finish off his detention time. Knowing Snape, he was probably going to be kept up for another half hour.

"Oh, Edward," Professor Dumbledore called after him, stopping Ed in his tracks, "before you leave..."

Ed turned back, blinking in surprise. "Yes, sir?"

"You may expect the new watchman to arrive in two weeks' time."

"Yes, sir."

The headmaster smiled kindly. "Goodnight then, Edward."

Ed couldn't help but smile back. "Goodnight, professor."

**_-------------------_****_-------------------_****_-------------------_****_-------------------_****_-------------------_**

**Author's Note**: Ed's sneaky. But Dumbledore has mighty powers of perception and amazing wisdom and knowledge, so Ed's sneakiness fails him. :P and... for some reason, I just really loved the idea of getting Ed into trouble with Snape. i dunno. just... because. the image in my head cracks me up. XD

(1) - this is, of course, a direct reference to the use of Time-Turners in past books. Ed doesn't know about them, so he's just rambling out all manner of scientific jargon…

(2) - sound familiar at all? i got this idea from looking at the way _X-Men_'s Nightcrawler teleports around. it's not quite exactly the same, since Nightcrawler still _teleports _into another dimension, so i had to change that a bit to sound a little more scientific. And also, since I haven't read many of the _X-Men _comics, thanks to _X-Men: Evolution _for showing me how Kurt's ability works and to _Marvel Directory (dot) com_ for giving me more detailed information.


	20. Catching Word

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere _near _as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They rule. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **i love reviews. :D thanks again for all the support! who's the new watchman? just wait and see! a pairing for Ed? maybe... maybe not. maybe much much later or maybe not on my watch. or maybe just a little one...? who knows! all in good time, my readers, all in good time...

**_-----------------------------------------------------------_****_----------------------------------------------------- _**

_**Chapter 20**_  
**Catching Word**

As it is with many schools, magical or not, it wasn't very long before the rumor mill started to run. After everyone found out about Ed's detentions with Snape, people started to ask questions. Why would the head of Slytherin issue such a severe detention sentence to one of his own? What did the exchange student from Germany do to deserve it? What was he being made to do? Among the Slytherins, however, it was the questions about what had happened to Draco that were much more popular. A few rumors had started about Draco being turned into a Vampire, or an Inferius or some other sort of pale, mindless creature.

The most idiotic and immature rumors ever thought of, Edward had decided. He ignored anyone and everyone that prodded him about his detention. Though he did wonder what everyone's reactions would be when he told them about how he deliberately incited Snape's rage. He still thought it was damn funny. Draco ignored everyone as well, though in his case it was probably more out of apathy than irritation.

Classes proceeded in a relatively normal fashion. Most of Ed's classes either bored the hell out of him or irritated him to no end. McGonagall was frustrated as ever with Ed and his obstinate refusal to transfigure living things into inanimate objects. He'd finally consented to change animals into different animals, but that was the only inch he was willing to give. Slughorn continued to praise Harry's fine work in Potions class, but after the first day the walrus-like professor seemed to vanish into thin air the exact moment that the period was over. The Potions Master had also stopped issuing invitations to his Slug Club's private parties, though neither Ed nor Zabini had any complaints in that regard. Strange behavior, but it was of no consequence or concern to Edward.

Ed spent his days keeping careful watch over Draco and his nights with Snape in detention, trying to figure the sallow-faced wizard out. So far, he hadn't had much luck in the matter. What he _had _learned was that Snape was a real professional when it came to keeping himself a secret. Ed had tried several different methods of getting something to slip: at first he tried asking him a few nonchalant questions about himself, but was consistently shot down with the argument that Ed had no good reason for wanting to get to know him. He then tried casually mentioning various things to see how he would react to each and then interpret how his reactions revealed his character, but Snape didn't ever seem to react to anything at all. All Ed ever got were glares and skeptical eyebrow raises, which definitely wasn't helping.

So he was left with no choice but to wait and hope for Hughes to come through with some information. And he hated waiting. It was starting to get a little obvious when Ed kept looking up hopefully at the post owls every morning, only to scowl in disappointment when he saw that Eule wasn't among them. Worse, Draco was slowly starting to become a little more like his old self (though he was still much paler) and it had only been a little more than a week into the new term. Ed was getting frustrated. He no longer had as much time as he had hoped.

He thought of all this just as he was about to go to his detention. In all honesty, he was more bored with the detention than he was upset. Everything about his detention time had become automatic, almost routine. He didn't even have to think about the task, or how to get to the DADA classroom; his limbs did all the remembering for him. Detention had turned into a time and place to think, although lately the fact that he was just wasting precious time there had been gnawing incessantly at the back of his mind.

"Oi, Elric!"

Edward flinched at Zabini's voice. He slowly turned to face him and the others, where they had once again set themselves up to lounge casually on the common room couches. Crabbe and Goyle were playing some game that Ed learned was called "exploding snap" (which made him nervous since it sort of reminded him of Mustang). Draco was sitting on the couch closest to the fireplace, staring blankly into the dancing flames (his new favorite hobby). Zabini had apparently been pestering him again, but now he was walking over to where Ed had halted in his tracks.

As Zabini came closer, Ed narrowed his eyes at him. He still hadn't quite forgiven Blaise for signing him up for those Apparition lessons. "Go away."

Zabini smirked slightly. "Off to detention, eh?"

"As usual. No big deal."

"I'd still like to hear what you did that made him give you detention everyday for _three weeks_. I mean, that's a shit load of trouble!"

Ed shrugged and turned to leave. "I've been through worse."

Before he could take another step toward the exit, Zabini's arm shot out and grabbed onto Ed's braid. He meant just to hold him in place, but Ed's movement turned it into a very painful yank, at which Ed swore profusely before smacking Zabini's arm away.

"Sorry 'bout that, mate," he said with a smirk. "Been meaning to ask you something for a while now, but haven't been able to catch you."

"More like you've been avoiding me," Ed muttered angrily. "I owe you a broken nose."

Blaise looked a bit nervous at that, smiling in a vaguely apologetic manner. He then lowered his voice and leaned closer to Ed. "Hey listen, you supposedly spent the break at Malfoy's place, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So what's his problem?"

"How the hell would _I _know?"

"But you ought to! You were there, you should've seen if something happened!"

"Nope." He turned to leave again. "Didn't see a thing."

Zabini pulled Ed back before he could get too far, slinging one arm casually over his shoulder and lowering his voice even more. "Just level with me, Elric." He looked around warily before speaking again. "It's girl troubles, innit?"

Ed's eyes went slightly wider. _'How can this asshole tell?' _"What're you talkin' about?"

"I knew it!" Zabini whispered, grinning arrogantly. "That _had _to be it! I mean, Malfoy won't say a single word on it, but I noticed Pansy's been acting pretty strangely, too. So then I thought something must've happened between them!"

"_PANSY_?" Ed was lost. When did _Pansy _enter the picture?

Blaise was starting to get all worked up. "That's right! They both disappeared during Malfoy's party, didn't you notice? I figure they dragged each other into some broom closet, or maybe snuck up into Malfoy's bedroom and started a little party of their own, if you know what I mean. And then maybe one of 'em didn't... y'know... meet up to par. Which would explain why they're being all weird these days. Am I right, or am I right?"

Ed just looked at Blaise for a moment, very obviously annoyed. "It's because of people like you that those asinine rumors start."

"Just tell me, Elric!" he yelled as Ed started to walk away again. "Am I right or what?"

"You're a sex obsessed maniac, Zabini," Ed said, slowly shaking his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter." He then added for good measure, "And if you start spreading that sick story around, I'll turn you into a eunuch."

When he noticed the vaguely confused look on Zabini's face, Ed mimed a snipping action with his fingers accompanied with a quick whistle. The message came through loud and clear, leaving Zabini with a horrified expression across his face as Ed left the common room, snickering.

--------------------------

The following days dragged by without much event. Just as Ed had hoped, Zabini kept his mouth shut about what Ed was calling the "bad lay theory of depression." After all, he couldn't afford to have such a story drift to Gryffindor ears. Blaise also seemed a little more wary of Ed than usual, at which Ed couldn't help but grin. At the rate he was going, it looked like Ed wouldn't have to smash his face in. Shame, really.

After about two grueling weeks, Ed's waiting finally came to an end. As he stuffed a slice of toast into his mouth at breakfast, Eule descended onto a spot on the table right in front of him. She hooted at him irritably, ruffling her feathers only to preen them immediately after. Ed smiled nervously. He'd been neglecting the owl over the past... he wasn't sure how long exactly, but it had been a long while since he'd gone up to the owlery.

"Sorry, Eule."

Eule seemed to be glaring at him, opening and closing her wings like she wanted to slap him across the face. As Ed reached for the thick brown envelope she was carrying, he allowed her to peck at his right hand as much as she needed to, just as long as the material of his clothes didn't get too ripped up. He then handed her his other slice of toast, which she quickly snatched up before taking off. Ed made a face after her as she left before turning his attention to the envelope.

It was one of those big thick ones that usually had the words "classified" or "confidential" stamped across one side. He peeled it open, carefully fishing out several sheets of folded paper that had been inserted inside. He unfolded them casually, glancing around to make sure that no one was watching him, and quickly read its contents.

_Yo! Ed!  
Hey, it's me, Maes Hughes! You have no idea how surprised everyone was when we heard from old Roy. Did you know that we had an entire investigation division out looking for him? We thought maybe Scar got to him, or maybe that weird Voldemort guy that Roy was talking about before he left. So when we got that letter from him, we had to call off the search parties. I think that only made more enemies for him. A lot of people feel like they wasted their time and energy searching for "the guy who stole their girlfriends." Haha! That's Roy Mustang for you!  
Anyway, good ol' Roy told me that you wanted some information. I got on it as soon as I could, but it sure took me a while, since I had to do it all on my own. You know how it is, right, Ed? So, sorry for keeping you waiting, buddy._

Ed sweat dropped at the altogether much too cheerful tone that was apparent in Hughes' letter. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was the same as ever: nice and insane.

The next part of the letter was coded.

_Severus Snape. Father, Tobias Snape (Muggle?); Mother, Eileen Prince (witch). From what I can gather, the guy had a bad childhood. Abuse from the father, though I haven't been able to determine whether or not it was only the mother on the receiving end. The child was definitely a victim of neglect, regardless. (Tsk tsk tsk. What horrible parenting.) The family was likely of lower-middle class or middle class.  
Attended at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was very intelligent, reported to have known more than most seventh years upon entering. Apparently wasn't particularly well-liked in his teenage years. Unpopular and aloof, but unbelievably brilliant. Isolated by his peers, made to be the object of much scorn. Has always had a keen fascination with the Dark Arts.  
Love life... not much is known. (Shame. Go tell him to get married.)  
Upon graduation from Hogwarts... doesn't seem to be a lot on him until his return to Hogwarts as a teacher. But there is this: He used to be a Death Eater.  
Seems like after Voldemort's defeat, he switched sides. He's supposedly one of Dumbledore's men nowadays. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of dirt on this guy. He's very cleverly managed to keep a low profile. Sorry._

His grip on the letter became tighter, the paper crumpling slightly under his fingers. Ed clenched his jaw. A Death Eater. A direct subordinate of Voldemort himself. Which now begged the question: what was he doing teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts? If Hughes had been able to find out that Snape used to be a Death Eater, then Professor Dumbledore should know as well. He'd have to be out of his mind to let someone with that sort of background come so close to the Dark Arts. Ed thought back to the first day of classes, to their first DADA class of the term... The loving caress that had been in Snape's voice as he described the evil that they would come up against...

And at the same time... a half-blood had been one of Voldemort's followers? Weren't they supposed to be preaching about some sort of pureblood supremacy?

Forcing himself to keep a straight face, Ed continued to read the letter. Hughes was finished talking about Snape, so the letter was back to normal.

_So how are you doing, Ed? We haven't been hearing much about you lately, but I guess we should have known, huh? That's what happens when people go out of the country for long amounts of time. It's a good thing! You're safe over there, so long as Scar and the other freak shows don't find out where you are. But at the same time, it's strange not hearing about the latest endeavors of the great Fullmetal Alchemist, Hero of the People everywhere you go. Haha! Do you miss your fame, or what?  
Everyone over here is doing well. If I were in East City at the moment, I'd tell you how everyone says "hi!" but I'm not. But Major Armstrong sends his greetings! Gracia and Elysia send their love!  
Oh, and Happy Birthday, Ed! _

Ed blinked. He'd forgotten about that. It was his seventeenth birthday already?

_I'm guessing that this letter is reaching you just in time for it, too! But since you're over there, YOU'RE MISSING ELYSIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY! HOW COULD YOU NEGLECT HER? She's turning five and you're not around to give her a present! Try to send something over, okay? Like another one of those huge teddy bears that are bigger than her! Those are so cute! I know she'll love it!_

_See you soon, Ed! Take care!  
- Maes Hughes_

_P.S. I've attached some of the latest pictures of Elysia! I know they're not as good as the real thing, but they'll have to do! Consider them our presents to you. You can thank me later. Happy Birthday, Ed!  
P.S.S. I'm also sending you a tape of her singing! You have to hear how beautiful her voice has gotten over the past year! She has a voice like an angel!_

He slowly folded up the letter and put it to one side for the moment. Hughes couldn't be serious. He couldn't seriously have sent those things all the way to Hogwarts. He couldn't seriously have meant for them to be birthday presents. Ed braced himself, taking a deep breath through his nose, and reached into the envelope to fish out the rest of its contents.

Sure enough, Maes Hughes had included at least two dozen photos of his daughter Elysia. Some of them featured her on a small red tricycle; others were of her splashing around in a wading pool with an inner tube around her waist. A surprisingly large amount of them, however, were just random snapshots of her doing ordinary things: eating, sleeping, or even just staring up at the camera with an awed expression across her face. A few of them had notes scrawled by Hughes on the back, saying things like "Doesn't her cuteness just make all your worries melt away?"

_'Yep,'_ Ed thought with a small chuckle as he flipped through the photos. _'Nice and insane.'_

On the other hand, Ed couldn't help but notice that she had gotten a lot bigger. It was amazing to think that he'd practically known this little girl for her entire life. He then put the pictures to the side and peered into the envelope to see if there was anything else. Still stashed inside was not one, but _two _black cassette tapes, both labeled "Elysia My Angel." Ed grinned as he put everything away. Unfortunately for Hughes, Ed had no means of listening to the tapes he'd been sent. He would have to wait before passing judgment on just how angelic Elysia's singing voice was.

It wasn't very long before Pansy discovered the package Ed had received. Since she wouldn't stop pestering him about it, he reluctantly showed everyone the pictures of Elysia, telling them that she was his baby cousin back home. Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem to understand the concept behind adorable children while Draco, as usual, remained silent. Zabini didn't seem particularly interested, though he did make a comment about how Hughes seemed more in love with his daughter than with his wife. Pansy, however, agreed that Elysia was "as cute as a button," but she thankfully hadn't said so with as much enthusiasm as Hughes usually did.

When asked what the occasion was, Ed quickly made up some story about how Hughes was just an excitable uncle who liked to show everyone pictures of his daughter - which wasn't entirely a lie. He decided that he just didn't want the Slytherins celebrating his seventeenth birthday.

As soon as everyone became bored of looking at Elysia (if Hughes ever knew that he would die of shock and horror), they finished off their breakfasts and then marched out of the Great Hall. Ed took up the rear of the group, trudging along behind them with one hand stuffed into his pocket. He was staring at the envelope in his other hand as he walked, mentally reviewing the more serious part of Hughes' letter. Since it had been coded, there was a possibility that he'd misinterpreted something. He doubted it, though. Hughes never made his codes as complex as state alchemists did. Still, Ed would have to go over it more carefully a second time when he had the chance. He glanced over at the others. Once he was on his own.

The other Slytherins were discussing something unimportant again, as was typical of teenagers their age. Ed strained his ears a little more carefully. Still no mention of Zabini's "bad lay theory." Hopefully Blaise had forgotten all about it by now. Ed watched the Slytherins' backsides for a moment longer as they walked, counting them to make sure that Draco hadn't disappeared, and then finally tore his eyes away. He turned his attention to the suits of armor that lined the hallway, standing on alert with large spears in their grips. If Ed remembered correctly, some of the armor in Hogwarts were bewitched and could give directions to lost students. He smiled slightly.

_'Al would fit in pretty perfectly around here,' _he thought.

Just then, as Ed and the other Slytherins walked past, one of the suits waved at him.

It took a few seconds for this to fully register in Ed's mind. He continued walking for a while, his eyebrows furrowed as he replayed that moment in his mind. He froze suddenly, one foot still suspended in the air. Wait a second. The suits of armor in Hogwarts weren't bewitched to wave at people, were they? Ed quickly backed up to the exact spot he'd been when he saw the armor and stopped. He then slowly turned his head to get a better look. His gold eyes grew wide.

_'No. Al wouldn't. He... He wouldn't.'_

The armor waved again. "Hi nii-san."

Ed's eyes grew even wider. _'Apparently he would.'_ "Al...? Wh-What're you doing here?"

"The colonel told me to come," he replied quietly. "You told him to send someone to Hogwarts, remember? Didn't the headmaster notify you? The colonel said he would..."

"Well, yeah," Ed muttered, trying to be just as quiet, "but I didn't think he'd send _you_! Al, you're not in the military, you don't have to do what he says!"

"But I _wanted_ to come! I wanted to see your school and meet your friends."

"I wouldn't exactly call 'em my friends, Al."

"And... you have to introduce me to Hermione."

Ed's cheeks flushed red. "Wh-What're you - Don't be - You can't just...! Shut up! Not now, Al!"

If Al still had a face, he would be smiling teasingly at his older brother. As it was, he just seemed to radiate an aura of happiness, very obviously pleased with himself. Ed forcibly cleared his throat as though something had soundly lodged itself in his throat, ready to change the subject.

"So _anyway_..."

"Oi, Elric! What's wrong?"

At the oh-so familiar and largely unwelcome voice, Ed's head snapped back to face forward, toward where the Slytherins had come to a halt. They were all looking at him, giving him funny looks like he'd lost his mind.

"Everything all right, Eddy?"

Something that sounded like a stifled laugh came from Al's direction. Ed frowned and discreetly threw a mean look at his younger brother. Alphonse fell silent at once.

"Just fine," Ed called down the hallway. "You guys go on. I'll catch up in a bit."

He watched warily as Draco said something to the others. Everyone nodded and then turned back around, continuing on their way to the common room.

"Hurry up, okay, Eddy?" Pansy called over her shoulder. Then all of the Slytherins vanished from view.

Another stifled laugh escaped Al, the metal plates of his armor scraping slightly against one another as his entire body trembled. "E-'Eddy'?"

Ed growled in annoyance and, apparently no longer able to contain himself, smacked Alphonse's helmet clear off his shoulders. Thankfully, there was no one left in that particular hallway to watch as the empty suit of armor immediately stopped laughing and hurried across the hall to gather his head.

"My head! Nii-san, I really don't like it when you do that."

"I've told her _a thousand times _to stop calling me that," Ed grumbled to no one in particular, ignoring Al's complaint, "but does she listen? Nooooo, she _insists _on being an annoying little bitch! I swear I'm gonna take that girl down if it's the last thing I do."

Having replaced his head back on his shoulders, Al walked over to Ed, ignoring the fact that he was still fuming and grumbling angrily under his breath. As he got closer, Ed whirled around to face him. It was clear by the look on his face that he was still upset, though it was no longer the same kind of fury that he'd been feeling towards Pansy ten seconds earlier.

"Al, you really shouldn't-"

"Happy birthday, nii-san!"

The greeting caught Edward completely off-guard. He blinked, immediately falling silent. For a moment all he could do was stare at Al as he unlatched his chest plate and pulled out a small package crudely wrapped with brown paper and string. Al handed the package to his older brother.

"The colonel took me to that Diagon Alley place before sending me here. I wanted to get you a present, so... here, take it!"

Ed's eyes slowly drifted from Al's face to the package he was still holding out for him. He hesitated before taking it into his own hands, not sure what to say.

"But Al... You didn't have to-"

"You forget about these things all the time. _Someone _has to remember them for you."

Ed frowned sadly. "I still haven't been able to get your Christmas present."

"Oh, that's okay," Al told him, shaking his head. "I don't really want anything. Besides, I got to come here to Hogwarts and give this to you in person. That's enough for me."

For a moment longer Ed remained silent. He then laughed softly, tucking the wrapped package under one arm with Hughes' envelope. "Thanks, Al. Somehow I knew you'd say something like that. But still..." He became serious again. "You really shouldn't be here."

Al was taken aback. "Why not? You don't want me to be here?"

"It's not that. I just don't like the idea of you being _stationed _here, like Mustang has the right and the authority to order you around when you're not in the military!"

"Well, Colonel Mustang said that he had no other choice. Sending someone from his unit would be suspicious since they're all... well, older. There aren't any teaching positions open, and it would be strange to be getting new transfers in the middle of the year, so..."

"So he sends _you _because you're a suit of armor?" Ed growled, his voice rising slightly in anger. "That bastard... He even has the balls to keep this from me! To send you here without letting me know first!"

"N-Nii-san..."

Ed paused for a moment, taking a deep, calming breath. He glanced down at Hughes' envelope and released a tired sigh. "This could be really dangerous work, Al," he said evenly, trying to control his temper. "You should be back at headquarters, out of harm's way."

"I can take care of myself, nii-san!"

"In hand-to-hand combat, yeah. I know that better than anyone else, but believe me, magic is completely different. We don't know what kind of spells would be able to penetrate your armor and I'm not about to let you put yourself at risk."

For another moment they were both quiet, each putting the welfare of the other foremost in their minds. This was a weakness and a strength that the Elric brothers shared. Ed refused to lose the only family he had left in this world; he'd made that much clear from the moment he attached Al's soul to the armor. Alphonse knew that. But still...

"I'm not leaving."

"_Al_!"

"Without me around, you'll slack off again and get in trouble, just like always!"

Ed grimaced. He had no real argument for that. He backed off slightly, drawing in another deep breath and turning around. They were both as stubborn as mules when it came to looking out for each other. There was no point in arguing any further.

"Oh, alright, you win," he said quietly, consenting at last. Al beamed. "Just promise you'll be careful, okay? We don't know what magic could do to you."

Al nodded. "I will. Don't worry about me, nii-san."

The elder brother turned back slightly to look at Al and smiled. He decided that everything would work out, as long as Alphonse knew what he was getting into. Then, as though staying so serious and solemn was physically taxing, Ed stretched out his limbs and yawned loudly.

"Well, you're now officially on a mission of your own," he said, banging playfully on Al's chest plate. "You know what to do?"

"Actually..." Al shuffled his feet sheepishly. "The colonel said to talk to _you _about that."

"_What_? Geez, that bastard can't do _any_thing right!" Al bowed his head, embarrassed. Ed sighed and then cupped his chin thoughtfully in one hand. "Well, I guess we're better off. I should tell you the truth about all this anyway."

Al looked back up, slightly surprised. "The truth?"

"Yeah."

"I _thought _you were hiding something from the colonel before... So what's going on?"

The young state alchemist opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. He glanced up and down the hallway to make sure they were still on their own. Then, as a precaution, he ushered Al back to the wall so that he blended in with the other suits of armor again. He crouched down on the floor next to him, placing Al's present and Hughes' envelope on the floor nearby and making sure that he couldn't be easily spotted. Only then did Ed launch into an explanation, giving Al almost exactly the same story he'd given Dumbledore. The only difference was the addition of a few vague details concerning what Ed knew of the situation with Draco and Hermione.

As soon as Alphonse was completely filled in on the situation, Ed grabbed up his things and got ready to leave. He'd been away from the Slytherins for too long already and they would be asking questions ("Especially that nosy little Parkinfreak"). He promised to show Al around and hopefully get to point out his new Gryffindor charges later if he had time before hurrying off in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Ed was eternally grateful that it was a Sunday and had no class. Otherwise he'd be running late and he definitely didn't want any more trouble with his teachers.

**_--------------------------------------------------------_**

**Author's Note:** HUGHES LIVES. I don't care _what_ the FMA manga and anime say, as long as I'm behind the steering wheel, HUGHES WILL NOT DIE. I won't let him, dammit! I like him too much!

AND AL'S BACK! BWAHAHAHA! Oh, I missed him for a while there.

And… the matter of Ed's (and Elysia's) birthday. **  
WARNING: RAMBLE ALERT. PROCEED AT OWN RISK.**  
Because I wanted Al to arrive on Ed's birthday, I sorta wanted to make a big deal out of it. :P so I decided to give Ed a more precise date. Now, most FMA fans know that Ed's birthday is supposed to be in winter. this is the only detail that Hiromu Arakawa ever gives in regards to Ed's birthday, along with mocking laughter because of the way she (does anyone know Hiromu Arakawa's gender? I say 'she' because of the cow representation) states that in some parts of the world, winter lasts for 6 months. She mocks us all and leaves us confused. Based on what we've seen in the anime, however, fans have narrowed it down to somewhere between October and February. Well, I'm already well past December, so those months fly out the window, and I saw February get used for Ed's birthday in another fanfic. So I went for January. Then I used one of those "what does your birthdate say about you?" things to find a date that most closely described Edward and eventually settled for January 19. according to HBP's timeline (which you can find at the Lexicon), that is exactly 2 weeks after all the students get back from vacation and is a Sunday. I also figure that Ed's brain is so preoccupied with the Philosopher's Stone and his unending quest for truth and knowledge that he tends to forget birthdays and such.

As for Elysia's birthday, I decided I'd keep the same birthday thing from the anime with a 12 year age gap. Just so you know, in the manga, it looks like Ed and Elysia's birthdays are about... maybe one or two months apart? When Hughes raves to Winry about it in the manga, she doesn't make any comment concerning Ed. Winry remarks about Ed's birthday when they first meet Ling, which is at least a month after Elysia's birthday… but ANYWAY, for the sake of having Hughes rant, their birthdays are on the same day in my story. :D

(phew) okay, if you were actually bored/interested/crazy enough to read all that… kudos. Welcome to the inner workings of my brain. XD


	21. Brothers

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere _near _as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They rule. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent

**Author's Note: **_(throws a party)_ huzzah! over 350 reviews! "i'd like to thank (sob) Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling, for making these awesome series and these amazing characters..." hehehe, anyways, here's the next chapter, so enjoy!

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_**Chapter 21**_  
**Brothers**

As his luck would have it, the Slytherins kept Edward perfectly distracted for the rest of the day. For the first time in a long while, Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle approached Ed for help on their homework. _All _of their homework. This led into several poker games - one for every assignment - that made Ed feel like he had suddenly entered some sort of tournament. He was forced to play poker for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, only breaking once for lunch. On the way back to the common room from the Great Hall, Ed managed to pull Al to one side and told him to wait after dinner in the third floor hallway, right outside of the trophy room and the armor gallery.

It definitely wasn't Ed's lucky day since he ended up losing a few rounds and actually had to help the Slytherins with some of their homework. He supposed it served him right for playing fair for the first few games. Still, things could have been much worse; he only had to do three out of the twenty or more assignments, and none of them were essays.

Still looking on the bright side, Ed was able to put one of Alphonse's birthday presents to good use: a deck of Self-Shuffling playing cards. Together with the cards inside the brown packaging was some kind of pocket mirror, the purpose of which eluded Ed. He was sure he didn't care _that _much for his appearance, so he just rewrapped the mirror and put it carefully inside his trunk. He'd have to ask Al about that one later.

Thankfully, the assignments were done in time for dinner (explaining everything to Crabbe and Goyle took much longer than Ed would have liked) so Ed really was free until his detention at nine. After polishing off his plate and downing his goblet of pumpkin juice, Ed left the table and went off to meet up with his little brother. But when he arrived in the hallway that he and Al had agreed to meet at, Alphonse was nowhere to be found. Impatient as he was, Ed began to search. He looked inside the trophy room and wandered around the armor gallery for a while (it would be much harder to find Al if he went in there), but still couldn't find him.

Ed ruffled his hair in annoyance. "Where'd he go?"

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As it happened, Alphonse had been walking toward the promised meeting spot much earlier than they'd agreed to meet. However, he got held up when he saw an animal turn the corner into the second floor corridor, sniffing at the air as though it had picked up a strange scent. The fact that the animal was tracking something made it seem like a dog, but it actually turned out to be a large cat with a squashed, flat face and bottle-brush tail.

Beside himself with excitement, Al quickly approached the cat, careful not to startle it lest it run away. When he got closer and the cat turned slightly to look at him, he got down onto his knees and extended one hand toward it.

"C'mere, kitty," he cooed. "I'm not gonna hurt you. C'mere..."

The cat just looked at him for a moment, its eyes seeming to glimmer with intelligence. It then moved toward Al's outstretched hand, sniffing suspiciously at it. Then, briefly glancing up into Al's face, the cat closed the distance between them and brushed up against the palm of his hand. For a moment, Al could hardly contain his excitement as the cat allowed him to softly pet its fur and scratch at a spot behind its ears.

Al was instantly fond of this cat and secretly hoped that it had no owner. Though the chances of that were very slim, considering they were inside a very well-hidden school over a lake and amongst large forests and mountains. Either way, Al enjoyed playing with the ginger-colored cat and quickly lost track of all sense of time and place.

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Edward was pacing in the hallway now. It wasn't like Al to be late. With one more glance at his silver pocket watch and another exasperated sigh, Ed abandoned his post in front of the armor gallery and began to search the entire third floor.

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Al was so absorbed in playing with the cat that he didn't notice when a girl turned the corner, spinning around in place and panting slightly with exhaustion. She leaned against the wall as she caught her breath, her eyes sweeping up and down the corridor. When her eyes fell upon the ginger-colored cat, she released a sigh of relief and walked toward him, only vaguely aware of the figure that was playing with him.

"Oh, you found him!" she breathed, gulping down some more air. "Thank goodness! I've been looking for him everywhere!"

The helmet of the suit of armor snapped upward at the sound of her voice in alarm. Only then did the girl seem to realize that he was suit of armor. Her expression became slightly apprehensive as she gazed at him, not quite sure what to think of his appearance and size. Al quickly withdrew his hands from the cat's back where he had been stroking him as though he'd done something wrong.

"I'm sorry," he said, nervous at having been found. "I-I didn't know he was yours."

Upon hearing Al's young, timid voice, the girl relaxed. "Er... no, that's okay." She looked back down at the cat, which had approached Al again and was now trying to climb into his lap. She smiled. "He seems to like you, anyway. Which is quite odd, actually. You see, he's not very keen when meeting strangers."

More than happy to have received permission to continue playing with the cat, Al resumed stroking the fur on his back. "Really? Why not?"

"I'm not sure," the girl admitted, "but I just learned to trust his instincts. He seems to be a good judge of character. His name is Crookshanks, by the way."

"Crookshanks..." Al echoed the name thoughtfully, as though he were testing the sound of it. He then raised Crookshanks up into the air to get a better look at him. Though it couldn't show through his armor, it was easy to tell that Al was smiling. "It's very nice to meet you, Crookshanks!"

The girl could only smile at Al. Then she suddenly shook her head, mentally scolding herself for something, and then extended her hand toward him.

"Oh, and I'm Hermione."

Al lowered Crookshanks back into his lap and turned to look at the girl. "Her...? Oh... OH!" Hermione blinked in confusion as Al took her hand into his and shook it enthusiastically. "It's _very _nice to meet you, Miss Hermione!"

"Yes, it's... nice to meet you, too... er...?"

He then released her, embarrassed. "Oh, sorry! I'm-"

"AL!" called a loud voice from the stairwell. "AL, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Both Al and Hermione's heads snapped to look in the direction that the voice had come from. Al instantly became distraught, his hands flying up to hold either side of his head.

"Oh no!" he wailed softly. "I forgot all about..."

Hermione looked worriedly at Al. "Forgot about what?"

Within seconds, Edward Elric came storming down the steps, his hands clenched into fists and an annoyed expression on his face as he grumbled under his breath about being able to keep track of eight-foot tall suits of armor. Having searched the entire third floor, checking every unlocked room he came across, Ed had finally given up on it and decided to continue his search elsewhere. His golden eyes were now sweeping from his left to his right as he planted both feet firmly on the second floor. When his gaze finally fell on Al, kneeling in the middle of the hallway with his back slightly turned away from him, Ed frowned angrily and marched purposefully toward him.

"AL!" he shouted, making the suit of armor flinch and turn back toward him. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I'VE BEEN LOOKIN' ALL OVER FOR YOU AND-" His anger and annoyance faltered when he noticed another figure poking out from behind Al. "AND... And..." Ed smiled nervously as he came to recognize the bushy brown mane of hair. "H-Hi Hermione."

"Oh... Hello Edward."

Hermione seemed confused, looking from Ed to Al and back again. It looked like Al was trying very hard to avoid eye contact with Ed as he approached, his pace much slower now than it had been before. "Okay, how exactly do you two know each other?"

Ed came to a stop near Al, looking more nervous than ever. "Um... he's, uh... I mean... well..."

"We're..." Al hesitated, turning to Ed as though asking for his approval. He barely waited for his brother's response (which was simply a dismissive sigh) before turning back to Hermione, who was looking at both of them like they'd each sprouted a second head.

"We're brothers," he told her frankly. "I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric. But you can just call me Al." His tone suddenly became much lighter and more casual than before. "It's really very nice to finally meet you, Miss Hermione! I've heard a lot about you!"

Hermione still seemed a bit stunned at first, but she quickly recovered from it and smiled warmly. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, too, Al."

Al seemed to beam at Hermione and then turned to his brother, leaning closer so that only Ed could hear him whisper, "Nii-san, you were right. Hermione is _really _pretty and nice!"

Ed's cheeks flushed red and he hastily pulled away. "Well, y-yeah."

"Brothers!" Hermione announced aloud, as though she could hardly believe what she'd just discovered. "I don't believe you've ever mentioned that you had a brother back home, Edward."

"Well..." Ed rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture when Al looked at him, undoubtedly having taken offense to hear this. "No one's ever asked."

Crookshanks suddenly jumped up into Hermione's arms and meowed at her, which drew Ed's attention to him. At first he didn't even realize that it was a cat. It had to be one of the ugliest natural born creatures he'd ever seen; it looked more like a pig covered in long, ginger-colored hair than any breed of cat. Ed looked at the cat for a moment, slowly realizing why Al hadn't been where they'd agreed to meet in time. He glanced at Al, who was looking at Crookshanks in what Ed decided was an almost dreamy manner, then back at the ugly cat as Hermione tenderly stroked his head.

"I didn't know you owned a cat, Hermione."

"Isn't he cute, nii-san?" Al said suddenly in a very cheerful voice. "His name is Crookshanks!"

Ed just looked at Al for a moment longer before returning his attention to the cat. He decided not to say anything else. If he pointed out how ugly it was, Al would probably beat him over the head. Not only that, but saying something that tactless with the cat's owner right in front of him was not the brightest of ideas. Crookshanks slowly turned his head so that he was looking right at Edward. Ed frowned at the intelligence that he could see behind the ginger-colored cat's eyes. He was pretty sure that most cats weren't _that _smart. The cat suddenly hissed softly in Ed's direction, making him jump in place.

_'What the hell did _I _do?'_

Hermione smiled at Alphonse. "Al, if you want to, maybe you can come round and play with him from time to time."

An aura of absolute joy radiated from Al's general direction. He turned eagerly to his older brother, who was now openly glaring at the cat in Hermione's arms. "Can I, nii-san?"

The elder Elric glanced at Al, having half a mind to ask if he'd gone insane. At least the other cats that Al had picked up really _were _cute. On the plus side, at least this arrangement would make Al feel like he really had a pet cat of his own. Maybe his urge to pick stray cats up off the street would finally be purged from his system. Ed shrugged.

"Sure."

The exuberant aura around Al grew in strength. Getting up onto his feet, he extended a hand and gently stroked Crookshanks behind the ears. Hermione gave him a warm smile as Al slowly pulled away.

"Well, I'd better be going now," she told them. "I need to catch up on some light reading." Ed grinned at that as she turned to walk away. "Again, it was a pleasure meeting you, Al. I'll be seeing you around, then?"

Both Elrics smiled and nodded in the affirmative. Hermione's smile grew.

"Good night, both of you."

"Night Hermione."

"Good night, Miss Hermione."

Once the bushy-haired Gryffindor rounded the corner and vanished out of sight, Al turned to look at his older brother. "I like her," he said happily. "I'm glad I got to meet her."

"Yeah, well..." Ed heaved a sigh, scratching a spot on the back of his head. "That's good. Though I wasn't exactly planning on _introducing _you to Hermione. I just thought I'd point her out, since you're supposed to be _discreetly keeping an eye on her._"

He quickly shot an annoyed look at his younger brother. Al jumped slightly, thrown immediately into a slight panic. He waved his hands frantically in front of him as though doing so would make Ed forget what he was upset about.

"I'm sorry, nii-san!" he yelped, talking as fast as he could. "It's just that when I saw Crookshanks I couldn't help myself he was so cute so I started playing with him and lost track of time so I'm sorry for being late to meet you and making you worry like that I really didn't mean to but you know how much I love cats and I just couldn't resist..."

Ed pulled a face as Al went on to talk about how he'd met Hermione and apologized for almost blowing their cover ("I just think we can trust her!"). It was hard to stop him when he got frantic and started talking really fast since he never had to stop for air. Not to mention it got kind of annoying when he went off for too long.

"Okay, okay, enough already! She's trustworthy, I got it. Now calm down!"

Alphonse finally stopped rambling and turned to face his brother fully. "You're not angry?"

"No, I'm not angry." Ed released an exasperated sigh. "We'll just have to make sure that she doesn't find out you're supposed to be her bodyguard, and don't let her think that you're going to be another exchange student here. Same goes for anyone else you might meet, okay?"

Al nodded. "Okay." He paused thoughtfully. "Hey, nii-san, you never told me the _exact _reason you want someone to watch Hermione."

Ed flinched.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"O-Of course not, Al! Why would I-"

"This isn't some kind of personal favor, is it, nii-san?"

"I _told _you, it's not! I just..." He trailed off and looked away. Even if it _was _Al he was talking to, he couldn't tell him about the conversation he'd overheard at the Christmas party or the letter he'd found. He'd had a lot of time to think about it, but all he knew at the moment was that no one else could find out about those details. Even _he _wasn't supposed to know...

Suddenly, Al seemed to perk up. "Aha..."

Ed's eyebrows knitted together as he looked back up at Al. "'Aha' what?"

Al folded his arms over his chest and nodded his head in a knowing, wise manner. "Ah, the springtime of life..."

"Wha...?"

"Nothing, nothing!"

Ed eyed his younger brother suspiciously. "You're not makin' any sense."

A tiny, teasing chuckle came out of Al. "You really like Miss Hermione, don't you?"

Suddenly the air around Ed's face felt very hot. "D-DO NOT!"

"Mm hmm..." Al laughed again. "There's no use denying it, nii-san. I don't blame you, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

The kid was relentless! Ed clenched his teeth together, trying to fight off the burning sensation in his cheeks. "I _TOLD _YOU, AL! I JUST- SEE, IT'S- IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Oh? Then what _is _it like?"

Al sounded curious, but it seemed clear that no matter what Ed said next, it was only going to give him fresh material to tease him with. Ed knew that _very_ well, having used similar tactics on people before. All he could do was blush fiercely, stuttering over every word that started to come out of his mouth. He couldn't mention any of the things he'd seen happen to Draco, but if he stayed quiet then Al would continue to assume that he really _did _feel something for Hermione. He smacked his forehead. Trapped. Damn it all.

"ELRIC! OI, ELRIC!"

The young alchemist would have let out an audible sigh of relief - if that voice had belonged to anybody but Zabini. On the bright side, an intrusion was an intrusion, and he welcomed it - for possibly one of the first times in his life - with open arms. Before Ed could motion for Al to remain quiet, Zabini came jogging up to them with a smirk on his face.

"Just the man I was looking for," he said triumphantly. "Look, Crabbe and I were wondering if you'd maybe look over our -"

Zabini stopped short when he finally noticed Al looming over them and just looked up at him in silence. Ed raised an eyebrow, sparing a brief glance back at Al. Al fidgeted slightly under Zabini's stare. Some part of him knew that he should probably be used to it after all this time, but it was still very difficult to ignore when people were gaping at him. The elder Elric decided to try and ignore Zabini's reaction, hoping that his indifference to Al's presence would drop the hint.

"Don't tell me you just wanted to show me your impersonation of a goldfish," Ed joked, folding his arms over his chest. "Which really is just short of perfect, by the way."

Zabini didn't seem to have heard him. He shook his head vigorously, looking away from the hulking suit of armor and turning back to Ed. "That's one _wonky _looking suit of armor you've got there, Elric."

"'_Wonky_'?" Al echoed, horrified and offended at once. "Do I really look _that _strange?"

Blaise almost leapt out of his skin when Al spoke and latched onto one of Ed's arms, an alarmed expression across his face. His eyes grew so wide they were practically bugging out of his head. For a moment he was silent, and then slowly leaned forward so that he could talk quietly into Ed's ear.

"Elric," he muttered, not taking his eyes away from Al, "a suit of armor is talking to me..."

Al bowed his head to the floor and twiddled his fingers. Ed shook off Zabini's arm, frowning slightly to cover up his amusement.

"Would you relax? For someone who's grown up around magic and seen tons of weird things happen around you, you sure are jumpy."

Zabini finally looked away from Al, only to set his incredulous gaze onto Ed. "Erm... D'you know this thing?"

Alphonse gasped in horror again, sinking even lower into the depths of sadness. Ed offered him a comforting smile, but Al didn't seem to notice. He then sighed, deciding that since Hermione had already been told (and it probably wouldn't be too long before word got around) it would be best just to be as honest as he could under the circumstances.

"Uh... Well... He's my younger brother, Alphonse."

This news came as no small surprise to Zabini as he turned to look at Al with an even more incredulous look on his face. Al pulled himself together enough to bow politely in Zabini's direction, which finally made the tall Slytherin relax.

"Your _younger _brother, eh?" Zabini smirked slightly. Al suddenly stiffened. He already knew where this was going as Blaise turned back to Ed. "Well, at least now we know where all your height's gone, eh, Elric?"

A huge vein popped out on Ed's forehead and he pounced, fists waving in the air. At precisely the same moment, Al jumped forward and caught Ed by his right wrist, effectively keeping his angry, flailing limbs out of reach of Zabini's face.

"_Nii-san_-"

"WHO THE HELL IS A FLEA-SIZED ULTRA SHRIMP?"

"-Nobody said that!"

Zabini seemed to be frozen stiff, his eyes even wider than before as he watched Al hold Ed back. He had absolutely no idea just how lucky he was that the younger Elric was around.

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**Author's Note: **Alphonse, you silly little boy... what can I say? he has a cat fetish. in spite of its relatively short length, this chapter was surprisingly difficult to write, though it was a whole lot of fun to do. XD and hooray! Al now has a pseudo pet cat. Shared custody with Hermione, of course :P


	22. A Chink in the Armor

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere _near _as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They rule. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent:D

**Author's Note: **sorry that this is kinda late. i've been pretty busy all this week with school stuff (ARGH, BANE OF MY EXISTENCE) and wasn't able to write very much. but anyways, here's the next chapter!

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**Chapter 22**  
**A Chink in the Armor**

The Slytherins (with the exception of Draco) all gaped at Ed with their mouths hanging wide open. Ed ignored them and just flipped to the next page in his book, frowning at what he found there. Yet another piece of useless information. When was he ever going to come across something he'd actually need to know?

"Why didn't you _tell _us it was your birthday yesterday, Eddy?" Pansy shrieked indignantly, obviously more offended than the others to hear the news.

"Why do you care so much?" Ed retorted, not looking up from his book. "And for the millionth time, stop calling me 'Eddy.'"

"Well, we might've been able to do something special," she said lamely, ignoring the last part. "Or at the very least get you some sort of present."

Ed rolled his eyes. "That sounds uncharacteristically charitable of you guys."

"Well, you're our mate!" Zabini told him with a grin, slapping him heartily on the back. "You're a fellow Slytherin! We're not _completely _wicked!"

He shot Blaise an annoyed glare. Ed knew perfectly well that the tall black boy was trying to get back on his good side (assuming he'd ever been on Ed's good side in the first place) so that he could continue to ask for homework help when necessary. Zabini had tried to get Ed to look over some of his and Crabbe's essay work even after insulting him; a request that was viciously shot down and - if it hadn't been for Al's interference - would no doubt have landed Zabini in the infirmary. Not the purest of intentions to want to give someone something for their birthday.

Crabbe and Goyle were just staring at Ed in dumb shock, probably only because Pansy and Zabini were. As for Pansy, for all Ed knew she just wanted to do some disgusting... _thing _that sluts like her probably did for boys they liked on their birthdays. He gave an involuntary shudder at the thought and quickly returned to his reading.

"Would you guys drop it?" Ed snapped irritably. "I don't see what the big deal is, it's just a birthday."

"Just a birthday?" Zabini echoed incredulously. "_Just _a _birthday_? You turned _seventeen_, mate!"

"Without telling us!" whined one of the Crabbe/Goyles.

"You're _legal_!" proclaimed the other one. "You're of age!"

"It's a _very _big deal!" Pansy finished, and then all of them looked quite satisfied at having supposedly set Ed straight.

Ed frowned. "Look, it's done, in the past, way behind us, water under the bridge, so let's all just forget about it and move on with our lives." He stole a quick glance at Draco. "No use moping around about something you can't do anything about."

Something about those words made Draco twitch in his seat as he stared into the fireplace of the Slytherin common room. Upon noting his reaction, however slight it had been, Ed smiled inwardly and settled comfortably back into the sofa to continue reading.

Pansy and Zabini frowned at Ed's words and, as Ed resolutely returned his full attention to the book in his hands, backed up to leave him alone. After five months of hanging around Edward, they'd come to learn that they weren't going to get another word out of him no matter _what _they tried, unless he was in a sharing mood (which, at that particular moment, he was not). Crabbe and Goyle also left Ed alone, retreating to the dormitory to prepare for their first class. Eventually, only Ed and Draco remained on the long, black sofa and they were going to have to get up as well to go to their Arithmancy class sooner or later.

It wasn't going to be a good day and Ed knew it. This was the day that Hermione shared all of their classes, which always put Malfoy into a particularly sour mood. Though from now on, it also meant that Al was going to spend the class period standing guard right outside of the classrooms. At the moment, Ed was a bit wary of his younger brother. When they'd parted ways the night before and Al found out about Ed's detention, he hadn't been very happy. In fact, Al had managed to deliver a good blow to the back of Ed's head, which he moaned sadly about all throughout his time with Snape. Though Ed was pretty sure that Al was over it by now, it never hurt to be careful.

Other than that, the day was perfectly normal. It passed by without much event and continued to have the usual effects on the students: Ed left Arithmancy in a sleepy daze and Defense Against the Dark Arts with a scowl across his face. Al watched all of these happenings from a safe distance, being as discreet as he could be in his spy work. He wished he could look in on the classes and watch the lessons, but there was no way to look into the rooms from the hall.

It was some time during Ed's double Potions period that the brothers became fidgety. It wasn't as obvious with Alphonse since he was getting very good at controlling himself. He just kept looking up and down the corridor as though he were waiting for something to happen. On the other hand, Ed just couldn't make himself sit still all throughout class. While Slughorn lectured, Ed tapped his fingers on top of the table, shifted himself in his seat, heaved frequent, discontent sighs, and continuously glanced over his shoulder toward the door. He hated feeling restless and he could only guess that it was because of some unrelenting fear that Al was going to get found out and get in trouble. His overprotective big brother instincts had kicked into overdrive; he couldn't help it.

"What's gotten into you today, Eddy?" Pansy asked when she noticed Ed look at the door for what was probably the fifteenth time.

"Nothing!" he said quickly, turning back around in his seat and waving a hand dismissively in the air, a nervous smile on his face. "Really, it's nothing!"

The other Slytherins looked skeptical of this, but said nothing more.

When they finally got around to brewing their potions, Ed worked a little faster than usual. He usually worked at his own pace, not particularly caring whether or not he finished first or last. He did this just to irritate Draco (though it hadn't been too effective since second term began), because for whatever reason, Draco hated seeing him so laid back. But today's restlessness made him work quickly - at least on par with Hermione as they both made for the supply cupboard at the exact same time.

This behavior certainly seemed to interest Slughorn and he watched Ed curiously as he worked. Of course, that only annoyed Ed further. He'd been planning on finding some way to discreetly transmute everything to speed up the process, but couldn't with Slughorn watching him. He tried very hard to pretend the Potions Master wasn't hovering over him and could only hope that his favorite pupil (aka Harry Potter) would do something marvelous and awe-inspiring within the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, Al had finally spotted something of interest round the corner and walk down the dark dungeon corridor. He straightened his posture immediately, so he looked just like the other suits of armor that sparsely decorated the other floors. The person that had just entered the hallway was a young girl, possibly around Al's age, with a long mane of flaming red hair. It was hard to tell from the distance Al was at, but as she came closer he realized that her light skin was freckled.

A few feet away from the door to the Potions classroom, the girl stopped. For a long, silent moment she just looked at Al curiously. Al fought to keep very still. For whatever reason, he wanted to get a better look at this girl, but he certainly couldn't make any sudden movements while she was watching him. Eventually, she seemed to shrug off whatever thought she'd had and entered the classroom.

All heads looked up, away from their cauldrons, as the girl briskly entered the room. Ron gave her a funny look which she returned in full force as she made her way toward the professor. Slughorn beamed at her, finally turning away from Ed and his potion and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Miss Ginny Weasley!" he cried exuberantly. The girl smiled nervously. "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise, m'dear?"

Several of the Slytherins (especially Pansy) sneered in the young girl's direction, a few of them muttering about the Weasley family and "blood traitors." Ed just observed Slughorn and Ginny, thoughtfully stirring the potion in his cauldron. He glanced back over his shoulder toward the door and, catching Al trying to poke his head into the room, shot him a look that very clearly said "don't even think about it" and quickly motioned for him to go back to the hallway.

"You're doing it again!" Pansy accused Ed, catching him in the act. She turned around quickly to see what Ed was looking at, but Al had already ducked out of sight. "Honestly, what's with you?"

Ed made a face, turning back to his cauldron. "Call it overprotective instincts."

Pansy looked more confused than ever and turned to the other Slytherins as though asking for their opinions and interpretations. Ed snorted in annoyance when he heard Zabini say something about "the younger Elric." Perfect. It was just a matter of time before the rumor mill resumed its dirty work.

"I've been told to give this to you, professor," said Ginny, holding out a folded up piece of parchment. "It's a message from Professor Dumbledore."

Slughorn hesitated for a moment, a look of terror momentarily flickering across his face, and then took the note from Ginny into his hands. "Oh... Thank you, m'dear, thank you."

His reaction had gone widely unnoticed by most of the other students. Only Ed seemed to have caught it, what with the professor standing barely two feet away from him. His eyebrows came together as he watched Slughorn turn away and walk slowly toward his desk at the front of the room. Ginny had already turned back to head out of the classroom, pausing for a moment to say something to Harry and his friends. Ed spared them only a brief glance before looking back at Slughorn who, strangely enough, had suddenly torn the slip of parchment to pieces and quickly disposed of them with a flick of his wand. He raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

_'Weird... What's gotten into this guy lately?'_

Al tried to peer into the classroom a second time, inching slowly and carefully toward the open door. The first time Ed had caught him, but now the older brother was distracted by something. Al looked around the room in a single sweeping glance, trying to commit as much of the classroom's layout to memory as he could. Then, upon seeing that the red-headed girl named Ginny was about to leave the room, Al quickly moved back into his stiff position near the door.

She stepped back out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her, but didn't move for another moment. Al couldn't quite see her out of the corner of his eye and, wondering if she was still in the room, moved his head slightly so that he could see... Ginny looking up at him from the doorway. He tried to hide his surprise when he saw her, freezing instantly. They just stood there for a long moment of silence, staring into one another's faces. As the moments seem to stretch out longer and longer, Al slowly came to a very important decision. Now that he could properly see her from head to toe, he realized something: Miss Ginny Weasley was _very _pretty. He just hoped that she wouldn't be suspicious or - far worse than that - afraid of him.

Much to Al's surprise, she just smiled genially at him. "Hello there."

Then, giving her long hair a casual flip, she walked off, heading back out of the dungeons. Al was silent, left gazing after Ginny in surprise and amazement. He could have cried tears of joy. It was the first time since he'd been turned into a suit of armor that someone hadn't been intimidated by the sight of him on the first meeting!

* * *

Several days went by in the exact same manner as all the others before them. The only thing that changed was Ed's mood as it became increasingly better as he counted down the days until the end of his detention with Snape. He and Al were making it a habit to head outside before anyone woke up so that they could have about half an hour to spar every morning. This return to their usual routine made Ed more cheerful than most of his classmates were used to seeing him. 

Though it also meant that Ed was rarely ever seen with the other Slytherins during the few hours before and after dinner. Taking advantage of the fact that Draco was still not fully recovered from his depression (though he did speak a little more often these days), Ed parted from them after his last period to find Al and hang out with him. He was always sure to tell the Slytherins not to wait up and to go to dinner ahead of him.

So they did. Not because Ed had assured them that he would catch up. Of course not! It was simply because they were Slytherins and wouldn't have waited for him anyway. Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Draco and Theodore Nott made their way to the Great Hall in relative silence, throwing the occasional sneer at everyone in the years below them. And it was because of their great Slytherin pride that, upon seeing one of their favorite targets picking up her things off the floor, quietly scolding herself for dropping them, they couldn't resist the urge to make fun of her.

"Well, if it isn't the perfect little Mudblood," jeered Pansy as they approached. "What's wrong, Granger? Those books you carry around all day finally became too much to handle?"

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered at the comment while Pansy folded her arms over her chest, looking pleased. Hermione barely glanced up at the Slytherins, occupying herself with gathering her things and keeping her eyes lowered to the floor. She seemed to be murmuring something under her breath about ignoring them. Draco just looked on in silence, his face blank.

"Look at that, boys!" Pansy went on, now mildly amused. "She's bowing to us!"

Nott smirked. "Looks like Granger's finally come to her senses!"

While all the other Slytherins laughed and snickered amongst themselves, Hermione continued to do her best to ignore them. Draco looked away, his face still blank.

"Finally realized how superior we are to your kind, have you, Mudblood?"

"Damn, Granger!" said Blaise suddenly. "That's right, innit? Man, with that dress you wore at Slughorn's party, I almost overlooked the fact that you're a Mudblood."

Hermione paused for a moment to shoot Zabini a hurt glare. Blaise just ignored it, turning to Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him as their laughing grew stronger. The Gryffindor looked back down at her things, reaching over to pick up the books she'd just checked out of the library. Nott grabbed one of them just before she could reach for it.

"_'Magick Most Evile'_?" He eyed Hermione amusedly. "Taken up an interest in the Dark Arts, have we?"

Almost all of the boys looked at one another, making ghost-like wailing noises in a mocking manner. Draco frowned in disapproval of their childish behavior. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Give that back."

"Woooo, scaaaary!" laughed Zabini.

Nott just smirked, waving the book around in the air. "Make me."

For a moment it looked like Hermione was seriously considering drawing her wand, but the anger that fueled the notion was short lived and the Slytherins knew it. Nott's smirk grew.

"Typical," he sneered. "Naturally Miss Goody-Two Shoes wouldn't _dare _try anything."

"Little Miss Perfect," spat Pansy. "Probably afraid of losing her shot at Head Girl."

"Probably afraid to lift a finger without her precious Potter around. Poor little Mudblood, of course she wouldn't be able to defend herself against people of _our _caliber!"

They all laughed as Nott continued to wave the book around. Hermione got to her feet and tried to grab it back, but the weedy-looking Slytherin boy effectively held it out of her reach. His laughter became louder and stronger as she kept trying and failing to reach for her book, backed up by his fellow Slytherins with their taunts and persistent mocking. Then suddenly, unable to contain herself any longer, Hermione drew her hand back and lashed it across Nott's face with a thunderous slap.

The laughter ceased immediately. Their faces suddenly hardened in anger.

"How _dare _you _touch_ me, you _filthy little Mudblood_!" Nott hissed.

When Hermione didn't back down, Crabbe and Goyle moved forward and grabbed onto her, holding her in place as Nott strode dangerously toward her. Pansy just watched, a grim, amused smile on her face. Draco's eyes were elsewhere, not looking at Hermione, pretending that she didn't even exist...

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted, struggling against Crabbe and Goyle's grip on her. "Let go of me!"

"How _dare _you disrespect your superiors, you little _shit_."

Hermione stopped struggling the moment she caught the cold fury in Nott's voice. Blaise suddenly looked somewhat uncomfortable as he watched warily.

"What are you doing, Nott?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he growled in response. "I'm going to teach this piece of filth a lesson in respect."

"Oh, come on, Theo-"

Nott cut him off. "One as low as _this _creature _never - NEVER -_ strikes a superior pureblood!"

He then reared back one tight fist, preparing to strike. Hermione shut her eyes, bracing herself for the blow... But it never came. She slowly reopened her eyes to see what had happened and was immediately confused. It looked as though Theodore Nott had been frozen in place before he could swing his fist down. Only his eyes seemed to be able to move and so darted around in his head, trying to see what had happened to him. Everyone else was now looking at Draco, who had his wand pointed straight at their paralyzed companion. To say that they were all shocked would be an understatement.

"Malfoy...?"

"Let her go," he muttered darkly. His voice had been soft, just barely audible, but the look on Draco's face was enough to make everyone freeze up. "Lay one more finger on her, and you'll be sorry you'd ever been born."

Crabbe and Goyle immediately released her as though she were a hot poker and dropped their hands to their sides. Still acting as their leader, Draco motioned for the two goons to grab hold of Nott and carry him the rest of the way. As they moved to obey, Zabini reached over and snatched the book out of Nott's paralyzed grasp. Then, upon receiving some sort of signal from Draco, dragged Nott away.

Zabini hesitated before following, looking down at the book he'd recovered. He glanced back up at Hermione, who was just standing shock still in the middle of the hallway, her eyes wide. Then, quickly making up his mind, Zabini shoved the thick book back into Hermione's arms.

"Erm... Here."

He then walked down the hallway to follow after Draco and the others. Hermione remained silent for a few more moments, clutching the book tightly to her chest, not sure of what had just happened. She then shook her head, forcing the numerous scenarios that she'd thought up on the spot back out of her head, and hurried to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

Dinner that night was quiet. _Really _quiet. Ed didn't understand what was going on when he rejoined the Slytherins for dinner. He'd entered the Great Hall late, only to find himself in the middle of some kind of silent battle between Draco and his crew. Crabbe and Goyle kept their faces lowered to their plates, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Pansy kept throwing Draco confused, frustrated looks while Nott shot him annoyed glares from where he was sitting several people down the bench. Only Zabini appeared to be normal, albeit a bit more quiet than usual, but all in all, Ed just couldn't figure out what he'd missed in the few hours he'd spent with Al. 

He breathed an audible sigh of relief when dinner was over and hurried back out into the hallway to find Al before he had to head off to his final session with Snape. Once he stepped outside of the Great Hall, he quickly searched for signs of his brother, who he found about twenty feet away on the other side of the corridor. Ed separated from the other Slytherins and approached Al as discreetly as possible, which wasn't too hard with the massive crowd of students walking around.

"Well?" he asked once he was close enough. "How's it going?"

Al gave a small start at his older brother's voice, turning his head slightly to look at him. "Huh? Wh-What? How's what going?"

Ed frowned, mildly annoyed. "What do you mean 'what'? Your _job_, remember?"

"Oh, everything's fine. The only ones that go in and out of the hall are either students or faculty, and the only suspicious looking one is Mr. Snape. Nothing out of the..." Al trailed off as he noticed that Ed was looking at him strangely. "What's wrong, nii-san?"

"I noticed you've been acting kinda... funny lately," he said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean by 'funny'?"

"Like your head's been up on some cloud for the past couple o' days. Something I should know about?"

Al turned his gaze to the floor, silent for a moment. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I won't," Ed answered with a nod of his head. "So what is it?"

"Well..."

"Edward? Alphonse?"

Both brothers turned around at the call of their names and saw Hermione walking toward them. They waved as she approached, Ed smiling slightly in her direction. His eyes darted momentarily in the direction that Draco and the other Slytherins had gone, then focused back on Hermione. After all, it would be troublesome if Draco saw him and Hermione together.

"Hi Hermione."

"What are you two doing over here?" she asked them. "Al, I didn't see you inside during the meal... Aren't you hungry?"

Al jumped slightly. "N-Not at all, Miss Hermione! I, um, already ate my dinner a while ago."

Hermione seemed somewhat suspicious of Al's response and turned to Ed as though asking for confirmation. "Really?"

"Yeah!" the older brother confirmed. "Since he's a guest here, he eats separately from the students, so... Yeah, he ate already, and, uh... he doesn't eat a whole lot anyway."

"That doesn't sound too healthy," Hermione commented, sounding worried. "Are you sure you're all right, Al?"

"Just fine! I wasn't very hungry to begin with, so..."

At that very moment, someone else came up toward Hermione, her long red hair swaying from side to side with every step. She looked back over her shoulder as she walked, over at someone who was slowly getting lost in the crowd.

"You know, Hermione," she said angrily as she came to a stop, turning back around with a flip of her hair, "I don't understand boys. Dean just completely-" She stopped when she noticed Ed and Al standing before her. "Oh, hello."

Ed half-smiled in her direction, mildly confused. "Uh, hi."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Hermione. "You haven't met before, have you?" When Ed shook his head "no," Hermione put one hand on the girl's shoulder as though she were a presentation. "This is another of my close friends, Ginny Weasley. She's from Gryffindor, too."

"Fifth year, though," Ginny said, smiling. She turned to Ed. "Hermione has told me about you, Edward. And you are...?"

As Ginny turned her attention on Al, so did the others. For a moment Al was silent, his body suddenly rigid and his gaze seemingly fixated on Ginny's face. If Ed listened really closely, he thought he could hear Al stammering something softly. He eventually got somewhat annoyed with the awkward silence and quickly elbowed Al in the side. This seemed to bring Al back to reality.

"Uh, I-I'm Al!" he blurted out suddenly. "A-Alphonse Elric! I'm his younger brother!" Al then suddenly looked down at his hands as he awkwardly twiddled his thumbs. "I-It's nice to meet you again, Miss Ginny."

Ed and Hermione's eyes suddenly went wide. _Again_? "You've met before?" they asked simultaneously.

Ginny only smiled. "Uh-huh. Just a brief 'hello' in the hallway."

Ed shot Al a sharp look that seemed to say "what the hell were you thinking?" Alphonse didn't notice it since he was apparently too distracted by the sight of his fidgeting fingers. Thankfully, neither did either of the Gryffindors. Ginny's smile grew warmly.

"You know, boys," she said, glancing briefly at Hermione, "tomorrow... Well, since it's the weekend, Hermione, Harry, Seamus, Dean, my brother Ron and I are going to have little snowball battle. Maybe you two would want to come join us?"

A slight frown formed on Ed's face. As fun as that sounded, he was going to have to refuse. First of all, he had orders to carry out concerning keeping watch over Draco. Secondly, he wasn't particularly keen on running around in the cold snow for a long amount of time. Once he was auto-mail free, then maybe. At the moment, the idea wasn't very appealing.

"Uh, I'd love to," he said, "but I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that. I've actually got something planned with the Slytherins."

Ginny looked a little disappointed to hear Ed's reply, but quickly shrugged it off and turned to Al, taking a step closer to him. "Well, how about you, Al?"

Al jumped slightly, his head immediately snapping upward to look at Ginny properly. "_Me_?" She nodded. "Oh, um... I don't know..."

"Oh, come on, Alphonse," insisted Hermione. "You could be on our team. That way I won't get pummeled by Ron's snowballs as much."

Ginny suddenly reached out and laid a hand over Al's arm, looking up into his face. "It'll be fun! We'd love to have you join us!"

As always, it was hard to tell with Alphonse and his armored body, but he seemed to blushing furiously. The younger Elric glanced up at Ed, who had inched away when the girls had started to converge on him. He gave Al a stern look and slowly shook his head, making a discreet cutting gesture across his neck with one hand. Al turned back to Ginny and Hermione.

"Um... okay... If you insist, Miss Ginny."

Ed slapped his forehead. Ginny grinned.

"Brilliant!" Hermione said cheerfully. She turned to leave. "I guess we'll catch you tomorrow, Alphonse! Wish you could come too, Edward."

"Yeah!" He forced out a nervous laugh as he returned to normal. "Maybe next time, right?"

Hermione smiled and began to walk away. "Of course!"

"Anyway," Ginny said before following her friend. "It was nice to meet you two. Ed and Al, right?"

Both brothers nodded, Ed slipping his hands into his pockets. "Yep. And it was... Ginny, right?"

Ginny nodded as well, smiling. As she turned to go, Al took a step forward.

"It was very nice to meet you, too, Miss Ginny!" he said, his voice bright and enthusiastic.

The red-headed Gryffindor sighed and turned back around, giving Al a slightly weary expression. "Do me a favor, Al?"

"Um... yes?"

"It's Ginny. Just Ginny. No 'miss.'" Her smile suddenly became even warmer. "We're friends, after all."

With that, she waved goodbye and followed Hermione down the corridor toward Gryffindor tower. Al watched her leave, practically mesmerized by the swaying of her hair. Ed had spent the last few moments watching his younger brother, as though he were analyzing him. Then, as the realization finally dawned on him, Ed's face broke out into a teasing grin.

"You really like _Miss Ginny_," he said, imitating the way Al had teased him before. "Don't you, little brother?"

Al didn't need a human face for it to be obvious that he was blushing.

* * *

**Author's Note: **hello, "Miss Ginny"! yes, another pairing has been created, simply because i think it would be adorable. Alphonse Elric and Ginevra Weasley... hehehe. and Malfoy slipped up again. oooops! Nott is slowly becoming quite evil in my mind's eye (not really sure why) and Zabini... well, i've grown to like this Blaise Zabini that i've created, he's quite a lot of fun. weird and sex-obsessed, but fun! it was actually really hard to write all those things that the Slytherins were saying to Gra- i mean, Hermione (dammit, Slytherins are rubbing off on me!) because... well, i've never actually witnessed anything like that first hand. just in movies and other books. i grew up in a very culturally diverse environment, and i've never heard anybody insult anyone based purely on race or heritage, so i didn't have a whole lot of experience to work with for that scene. thanks once again to MJade-1 for the idea :P

as a side note... if Ed ever promises not to laugh at something you tell him... don't believe him XP


	23. Snowball Fight!

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **I, just like most everyone else, do _NOT _own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. I am nowhere _near _as cool or brilliant or creative as Hiromu Arakawa and J.K. Rowling. They rule. The only thing I own here is the idea of the story. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**From the Author: **I've said it once, and I'll say it again: _**please no character bashing**_. 'nuff said.

anyways, it looks like Al and Ginny are getting some support! hehe... but for those who are still skeptical, I know Al and Ginny is gonna be a little awkward, considering Al's... a soul in a suit of armor... but feelings are feelings, and they can't be controlled. ;) let me toy around with it for a while, and we'll see what becomes of them.

* * *

**Chapter 23**  
**Snowball Fight!**

Ed shot a glare at a small group of random lower year students that were lingering nearby as he and Al walked out onto the grounds. The students gave a start and immediately scrambled away, throwing nervous looks over their shoulders as they escaped. Al turned to face Ed.

"_Nii-san_."

"What? They were staring."

Al sighed in exasperation. He knew that Edward hated it when people gawked and stared at Al's armored body and he had every right to. He just wished that Ed would give him a chance to get angry _first _for once. It wasn't easy to have such an overprotective and yet high maintenance older brother.

"Rumors sure spread fast around here, don't they?"

"Yeah." Ed groaned, ruffling his hair. "At least there are only a handful of people who know you're my brother and could probably recognize you in the hall. Everyone else thinks you're just a suit of armor that's been enchanted to spar with me."

Al laughed softly. "I'm not sure how to take that..."

Ed smiled. "In any case, looks like your secret's safe for now."

The younger Elric nodded his head slowly as they continued their walk. It wouldn't be much longer before they reached the spot that Al had agreed to meet with Ginny and the others for the snowball fight. Ed made a face at the layer of snow on the ground. It hadn't been snowing as much over the past few days. In fact, it had been raining a lot lately since February was fast approaching. What snow was left was mostly ice and water - it didn't look like it would be a lot of fun to play in. Sighing, Ed glanced up at his younger brother.

"I still don't think this is such a good idea, Al."

"You always say that, nii-san. I'll be fine, really!"

Ed was silent for a moment, still looking at him. "Al... You _do_ know this is just... a temporary thing, right?"

"It's just a snowball fight, nii-san. It's not like I think it's going to last forever."

"That's not what I mean. Just..." Ed sighed, scratching his head as though the thought was irritating him. "Just don't get, you know... too attached, okay?"

Alphonse turned to his brother curiously. "What do-"

"Al! Great! You're here!"

Both brothers turned around at the sound of Ginny's voice as she ran up to meet them. She was bundled in her winter gear, though it wasn't quite as snug now that the weather was slightly warmer. She smiled at the Elric brothers once she was practically standing next to them.

"I'm so glad you could make it," she said, beaming. She then looked over at Ed. "Oh, are you joining us, Ed?"

He smiled slightly and shook his head. "I just had some extra time on my hands, so I thought I'd walk Al over here. But I guess I better take off now."

Ginny frowned slightly. "Oh, alright then. We'll see you later?"

"Sure," said Ed, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. He then turned to leave, but stopped suddenly to say one more thing to Al. "Be careful, okay?"

Al nodded. "Okay."

Ed grinned suddenly. "Play nice. Don't hit 'em too hard."

Al gasped, slightly offended. "I won't!"

"He'll be back in one piece," said Ginny, grinning. She took Al by the hand and began to pull him away. "So don't worry, Ed!"

She then broke into a jog, pulling Al along behind her. He waved goodbye to his older brother as they ran off toward the "battlefield." Ed frowned worriedly as he watched them go for a moment longer. He then slipped his hands into his pockets and headed back for the castle.

"He'll be fine," he told himself firmly, though he wasn't doing a very good job of convincing himself. "You've got nothing to worry about. He'll be just fine."

Ed stopped and looked off in the direction Al and Ginny had gone. Why was he getting the very distinct feeling that he had just sent Al off on his first date? And why did he suddenly feel like an anxious father?

* * *

"Alphonse! Glad you could make it!" exclaimed Hermione upon seeing Al and Ginny jog toward where she and several other boys had apparently been waiting. She turned to the dark-haired boy nearest her. "Harry, we have our fourth member!" 

Harry turned around, pulling away from the group of boys he'd been standing with, and walked toward Hermione, glancing warily at Al as he did so. He was clearly intimidated by his appearance and height. Al looked away when he recognized the look in Harry's eyes, turning to talk more with Ginny.

"That's the guy you told me about?" Harry asked Hermione. When Hermione nodded in response, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I thought you said he was only fifteen."

Fortunately for Al, he didn't hear Harry's whisper. After all, ignorance really is bliss.

Hermione's jaw dropped open and she smacked Harry's arm in a scolding manner. "He _is_ fifteen! Honestly, Harry, don't be so insensitive."

Harry winced slightly, rubbing at the spot that had been struck. Right at that moment, the other boys walked over to join them. One boy with sandy hair was grinning mischievously, rubbing his gloved hands together.

"Okay, you lot ready to get pummeled and-" He stopped talking immediately the moment he saw Alphonse looming over everyone.

Two of the other boys - a tall black boy and a shorter boy with a round face - exchanged confused glances while Ron took on a more worried expression. He eventually turned to look at his little sister and opened his mouth to speak.

"Er... Ginny, what exactly is that you've got attached to your hand?"

Al gave a start upon hearing this comment and immediately looked crestfallen. Hermione spun around and smacked Ron even harder than she had Harry, which solicited a small yelp of pain and surprise from him.

"RONALD!"

"Hey! Bloody hell, that _hurt _you know!"

Ginny shot her brother an angry glare. "Just ignore my brother, Al," she said pointedly. "He's a bit slow on the uptake. Be sure you use _small words _if you intend to talk to him."

Ron scowled at Ginny, but she turned away from him, throwing her chin into the air in an act of defiance. Hermione rolled her eyes and then moved toward Al, pulling him forward.

"Everyone, be nice," she chided them. "This is Alphonse Elric. He's Edward's younger brother."

Al clasped his hands together in front of them and bowed automatically. "You can call me Al. It's very nice to meet you all."

There was a moment of awkward silence as all the boys exchanged confused looks. "Edward, as in... the exchange student from Germany?"

"The blonde half-pint in Slytherin?"

Al shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. If Ed had been there, these boys would have been killed by now. "Y-Yeah..."

"Yes he is," chimed in Ginny with a smile. "And he has been so nice as to join our team. So it'll be me, Harry, Hermione, and Al against you lot."

The black boy looked Al over from head to toe and frowned. "Hang on a minute," he said in a disappointed voice. "I'm finding this a little unfair now."

"Oh honestly, Dean," sighed Ginny, rolling her eyes. "Just a moment ago you were worried that I was going to be bombarded by snowballs. Now we've got Al, so you needn't worry anymore."

The boy named Dean frowned. "But..."

"No, I agree with Dean, Ginny," said Ron, sagely nodding his head. "Maybe we should go back inside and play some Wizard's Chess instead."

Ginny turned to look at her brother and smirked. "You're not _scared, _are you?" she teased. "Just a moment ago, weren't you saying that whoever we brought would be of no challenge to you?"

Several of the boys' faces fell slightly. The round-faced boy looked apprehensively at Al, slowly inching away from him. Hermione and Ginny couldn't keep themselves from grinning. Harry was smiling as well, but he was looking at the other boys with sympathy in his eyes.

"We didn't want to disappoint you, Ron," teased Hermione, "so we recruited Al. Honestly, how much fun would it be if it weren't a challenge for you boys?"

Ron glared angrily at Hermione while the other three boys looked even more apprehensive than before. Harry bent down, scooped up some snow in one hand, and began to carefully shape it into a ball. He grinned at his friends.

"Well... Nothing like a suit of armor by your side!"

He then hurled the snowball at Ron's chest, hitting him with a heavy thump. Ron looked down in mild shock at his sweater, now dampened by the snow, then back up at Harry. And with that, the snowball fight commenced.

* * *

He stared out the window, frowning slightly at what could be seen beyond the layer of glass. A snowball fight. An innocent snowball fight, childish and meaningless. His silver eyes narrowed as he watched the figures dart around through the snow. The corners of his lips turned downward and for a moment he wanted to look away, but his body wouldn't obey him. 

"I hate the snow," he muttered to himself.

"Yeah," came a voice from behind. "I don't like it either."

Draco turned slightly to see who was there and found Ed approaching him, his hands tucked into his pants pockets. He glared at Ed as he walked up to the window and looked outside. Ed frowned slightly when he saw Al shielding one of the Gryffindors from an onslaught of incoming snowballs.

"You know," snapped Draco irritably, "you randomly appearing like this is really starting to get on my nerves, Elric."

Ed smirked inwardly. He casually shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? It's a talent."

"Good, have you acquired the talent to disappear as well?"

He twitched slightly in irritation. _'No,' _he thought angrily. _'But I'm pretty sure _you _have.'_

He turned his head slightly to properly shoot a glare at Draco. The Malfoy heir ignored it and looked back out the window.

"Why don't you go work on that and leave me the hell alone?"

Ed said nothing and just turned to look out the window again, watching Al's snowball fight from afar. It seemed like Al was doing more defending and guarding than actual fighting. His frown deepened slightly. Al was so good at combat that he should have been creaming the opposition. However, it seemed like he was making excellent work of protecting the Gryffindors, which was - in a sense - his real job. Ed's eyes followed the shape of Al's armor as he hurried across the field, tossing another snowball at who he was assuming to be Ron Weasley, before flitting toward a familiar bushy-haired girl.

He glanced back at Draco, whose silver eyes were looking at the same figure. Ed then pulled away from the window and moved to press his back against the wall.

"She'll never know if you won't tell her," he said softly.

He braced himself slightly, half-expecting the Slytherin to scowl, glare, yell, or otherwise become infuriated somehow. But much to Ed's surprise, Draco remained silent. There was nothing. No reaction to the very blunt mention of his feelings toward Hermione at all. All he did was lean his forehead against the glass of the window, his eyes glued to Hermione as she laughed and threw as many snowballs as she could.

"She's not a part of my life anymore..."

Ed turned to look at Draco, trying to mask his surprise at hearing the quiet, somewhat forlorn tone in his voice. Draco stayed still for a moment longer until his breathing fogged up a section of the window, making it difficult to see through.

"The way I never was a part of hers..."

Then, without uttering another word, Draco backed away from the window and walked off, leaving Ed behind. Ed just watched him leave, not moving a muscle to follow him. Some part of him knew that he should. He _had _to. That was his job. But he didn't. He just watched silently as Draco turned a corner and vanished out of sight, a slight, almost sad frown on his face.

Slowly turning his gold eyes to look back outside and at the snowball fight, Ed moved so that he was in Draco's spot by the window.

* * *

"Well, that was tiring," said Hermione, pushing some of her hair out of her face. 

Ginny flopped back down onto the snow, laughing heartily. Hermione seated herself on a large stone nearby, leaning forward on her knees to catch her breath. As tired as she was, she still had a bright smile across her face. Al stood a few feet away from the girls, not quite sure what to do. Since he was lacking in a physical body that could tire out, he wasn't at all worn out from the fight and didn't feel the need to rest like everyone else did.

The boys in particular seemed to be completely wiped out. He glanced over at the other boys on the other side of the clearing. All of them were lying in the snow, looking like they had been left for dead on the ground. Harry was standing amongst them, playfully nudging each of them in their sides with the toe of his boot and telling them to get up.

"I can't believe we won this time!"

"I had so much fun!" laughed Ginny. "Did you see the look on Ron's face? You were loads of help, Al!"

Al gave a small start, turning back to face Ginny and Hermione. "Really? You think so?"

"Oh, absoutely!" Ginny told him with a warm smile.

An invisible blush grew on Al's face and he quickly had to look away, unable to maintain eye contact with the youngest Weasley. Hermione glanced at Al, then back at Ginny. A small, knowing smile made its way across her face, which she covered by wiping her face with her hands and trying to tame her bushy hair.

"I must look like a mess! Maybe I should take a shower..."

Ginny sat up, turning to look at Hermione with a broad smile. "Why Hermione?" she teased. "Afraid someone's watching you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ginny!" Hermione scoffed. "Who'd be watching me?"

"Oh, I don't know..." The redhead looked away, pretending to look thoughtful and smiling in a teasing manner. "I just so happened to catch a glimpse of Malfoy looking out the window when you were strategizing something with Harry."

"What?" Hermione sighed in exasperation. "What would Harry got that interests him _now_?"

"That's just it," Ginny went on, her smile growing more mischievous like she had just caught the juiciest piece of gossip in the world. "He wasn't looking at Harry."

Hermione was silent for a moment, looking at her friend like she'd sprouted a second head. "But you just said he was-"

"He was staring rather intently at _you_."

The brunette was stunned speechless for another moment, then suddenly let out a small, nervous laugh. "How could you possibly know that, Gin? He could have been looking at anything. Why would Malfoy be looking at me?"

"I don't know, I was about to ask you the same question..."

By this time, Al had moved closer to the girls in interest. Though he had to admit that he was rather confused by what he was hearing from Hermione. After all, Ed had told him that Draco and Hermione had some sort of relationship - a relatively intimate one, by the sound of it - which was supposedly the very reason that he was in Hogwarts.

"But..." Both Ginny and Hermione turned to look at Al when he spoke up. "Aren't you... friends? With Mr. Draco?"

"Draco Malfoy..." Ginny snorted in a quite unladylike fashion. "Hardly."

Now Al was even more confused. "But... Aren't Mr. Draco and Miss Hermione... together?"

Both girls rounded on him, their eyes wide. "WHAT?"

Al jumped at the shock and horror in their voices. He certainly hadn't been expecting _that _reaction.

"A-Alphonse," Hermione stammered, gently massaging her forehead like this new information was giving her a headache, "where in the _world _did you get that idea?"

Ginny, on the other hand, was no longer in shock. In fact, she looked sublimely amused. "Well, Hermione, here's something you haven't told me!"

Hermione quickly rounded on her best friend. "Haven't told you _what_?"

"My brother told me you two were dating," Al told them a bit lamely.

This seemed to excite Ginny even more. "Is that true?"

"No, of _course _it's not true," said Hermione firmly. "Alphonse, I'm sure you just misunder-!"

"Is he a good kisser, Hermione?"

A scandalized look immediately appeared across Hermione's face. "GINNY!"

Al wanted nothing more than to shrink and disappear. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had just done something horribly wrong. He wasn't sure if he was angry at Edward for misinforming him or afraid of what would happen to him as a result of screwing something up.

Ginny scooted on her knees through the snow to get closer to Hermione, her bright eyes glimmering eagerly. "What? I'm sure all the girls would want to know! Where does he place his hands? Are they on your waist, around your back, or upon your-"

"_GINNY_!" Hermione's entire face was red, though whether it was in embarrassment or anger was anyone's guess. "THAT'S ENOUGH! Draco Malfoy's hands have never touched any part of my body and they never will!"

The youngest Weasley began to laugh heartily. "I was just _kidding_, Mione. I know you would never go for him."

This seemed to calm Hermione significantly, though she was still frowning at her redheaded friend in disapproval. Al shifted uncomfortably, stealing glances at the girls in front of him.

"So... You're not..."

"Together?" Hermione finished, her tone slightly defensive and snippy. "No... Never."

Al fell into a thoughtful silence. "That's weird... I mean, my brother told me that Mr. Draco got really jealous when he went to the party with you, Miss Hermione."

The girls both rounded on Al again in surprise. Hermione looked completely shocked while the excitement in Ginny's expression flared back up in full force.

"_Excuse _me?"

"Well, _this _is interesting! _How _jealous? Did they fight over her, Al? How violent was it? Any broken bones?"

Al flinched slightly. "Umm... I..."

Hermione whapped Ginny lightly on the arm. "Ginny, would you _stop _it?"

Ginny grinned. "Oh Hermione, I'm sure Al is just teasing you." She turned to look at Al, still grinning. "Aren't you, Al?"

"Uh..." Alphonse honestly didn't know how to answer that.

Even so, his response seemed to have been good enough for Ginny as she turned back to Hermione with a light laugh. "See? Nothing to worry about, Hermione!"

Al shifted his weight uncomfortably again. He wasn't too sure about that.

----------------

Somewhere deep in Hogwarts castle, Ed gave an involuntary shudder. He suddenly had a very bad feeling that some part of his plans had just fallen apart...

* * *

**Author's Note: **look how Al has become part of the Gryffindors! and oh, the trouble he's caused... by accident of course XD

so anyways, yeah, short chapter in which it's been fun to muck around with Al. there's not a whole lot for Ed to do at the moment other than follow Draco around, and we should all know by now that he's always doing that, so i thought i'd focus a little more on Al for this chapter. hooraaaay for short transition chapters! XD


	24. Difficult Lessons

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **unfortunately for me, I don't own FMA or Harry Potter. it'd be so cool if i was, though. but i do claim posession of the idea of this story, and that's pretty cool in itself! XD and MJade-1 is CSAG's godparent!

**Author's Note: **aww, i wish people wouldn't hate on Ginny. sure she's a bit blunt and outspoken, but there's nothing wrong with that! and even if Al _is _kinduva juggernaut, that's not his fault, so let him play if he wants to... awkward as it may or may not be... _(ahem)_

anyways... just wanted to answer this for lachwen's sake, since (s)he reviewed anonymously: there is, in fact, a reason for why Ed eats (and sleeps, though i kinda haven't gone into that a lot) so much. umm... i don't wanna get too geeky, but... _(eyes twinkle mischievously)_ **manga spoilers ahead! read at own risk! - **_as of chapter 45, Ed creates a theory that at some point during their attempt to bring their mom to life, while they were both inside the gate, Al and Ed's minds crossed because their blood got mixed into the ingredients. this supposedly created a sort of body link between them, so Ed does the eating, sleeping, and growing for the both of them. which would also explain why Ed's physical growth is hindered. so together, they're "one full adult"! _XD

alright, moving ahead. enjoy chapter 24, people! and please don't forget to leave a review on your way out!

* * *

**Chapter 24**  
**Difficult Lessons**

"Absolutely _not_."

"Oh come on!"

"Forget it! I'm not goin' down there and that's that!"

"But you signed up for-"

"Correction, Zabini. _You _signed me up for the lessons. _Without _my consent and completely against my will."

"No use crying over spilt milk! What's done is done, you've already been charged the twelve galleons so you might as well go!"

"Like I care about a dozen galleons."

Zabini fell silent for a moment, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Ed. He glanced at Draco, who stood near the window and looked equally exasperated by Ed's obstinate refusal. The small blonde was lying stretched out on his bed with his arms folded indignantly over his chest and was glaring back at Zabini defiantly. Crabbe and Goyle were near the door, waiting for some sort of signal for them to leave. But instead of being told to go, they received different orders.

Draco jerked his head toward Ed. "Grab him. We'll just have to drag him to the Great Hall."

Ed sat straight up and set his glare on Draco. "WHAT?"

There was a ghost of a smirk on the Malfoy heir's face and Ed remembered why he disliked this guy so much. Over the course of the past week, Draco made an extraordinary recovery from his depression. He was still quieter and more sullen than he used to be and the swagger in his step was subdued, but now he talked much more often and had resumed his position as Crabbe and Goyle's boss, giving them random orders whenever he pleased. And on top of all this, he'd started disappearing again. It was a good thing that Ed's detention sentence was over and done with. Otherwise, he really would have killed Draco just to keep him in one place.

And that damn smirk. Every time it appeared on Draco's face, it was fractionally restored to its former trademarked self.

As Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini were about to descend on him, Ed rolled off his bed, crashing down to the floor with a loud yell and a thud. He quickly scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash for the door, slipping right under Zabini's arm. A small part of his mind was thankful for his small stature since it finally proved useful and helped him make an escape. But before he could get too far, Blaise's arm suddenly shot out and grabbed hold of Ed's right ankle. Ed crashed back down to the floor and Crabbe and Goyle immediately moved toward him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

They all smirked at one another and proceeded to ignore Ed's protests. One of the Crabbe/Goyles took hold of his right arm and the other took his left leg. He was immediately thrown into a full blown panic as thoughts of his auto-mail getting revealed surged through his consciousness. So he did the only thing he could think to do: he thrashed wildly in their grasp, hoping that a violent struggle would knock Crabbe and Goyle unconscious.

"Bloody _hell_!" one of them exclaimed. "He's bloody heavy!"

"Weird for him to weigh this much when he's so little!"

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU ALL!"

Zabini moved around so that he was holding Ed's left arm instead of his ankle. "All right mates, let's get Elric to the Great Hall for the Apparition lesson!"

Ed took another swipe at the Crabbe/Goyle holding his auto-mail arm and failed. He tried kicking his left leg at the other one and failed to do that, too. It wasn't easy to fight when suspended two feet over the ground by one's limbs. The best Ed could do was flail around in their grasp and hope that someone would lose their grip and drop him. He managed to catch a glimpse of Draco as he led the way out of the dorm. The bastard was smirking again.

Though Ed did manage to find a bright side to all of this; Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini were having a hard time trying to carry him all the way to the Great Hall. He enjoyed making the task hard for them, and after the first ten minutes or so Ed decided that it was a good thing that Crabbe and Goyle were holding his auto-mail; they didn't seem to notice anything strange about his limbs. Their amazing stupidity had a use! Even so, he continued to struggle against them, making sure that they were too distracted with restraining him to ever have an opportunity to notice.

So a very colorful, vulgar selection of curse words accompanied the Slytherins as they entered the Great Hall, causing such a ruckus that the heads of everyone already inside turned to look at them. Draco frowned at the attention they received and finally ordered Crabbe and Goyle to let go. Obedient as always, they dropped Ed in an unceremonious heap on the floor. Zabini knelt on the floor nearby, smiling. Ed growled viciously at him.

"Now that wasn't so bad, eh?"

"I fucking hate you."

Zabini just grinned.

Ed pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing a painful spot on the back of his head. He rotated his right shoulder and flexed his arm and leg, just to be sure that nothing was broken. Then, scowling at the swirling darkness on the enchanted ceiling (he so hated rainy days), he got to his feet and dusted himself off. Upon looking around, he noticed that the tables had disappeared. The Great Hall was filled with students, all of them sixth years or seventh years. They were all brimming with excitement as they talked amongst themselves and looked toward the front of the hall where the Heads of Houses were all standing.

With them was another, smaller wizard that Ed didn't recognize. He seemed somewhat colorless, with transparent eyelashes and wispy hair. There was an insubstantial air about him, making it seem as though he would be blown away by a strong gust of wind. Ed snorted, partly hoping that a breeze did come through the hall and blow the guy away. No doubt _he _was the teacher from the Ministry.

Ed glanced at the main door to the entrance hall, frowning as he watched as it swing shut. He cursed angrily under his breath. It was too late to escape now. He grudgingly turned his attention forward as Zabini slung an arm over his shoulder.

"Really, Elric, I don't understand what your problem is," he laughed. "You come off as this brilliant genius and yet it's like you don't want to put your skills to work..."

Blaise went on, rambling about how strange he found Ed's behavior, but Ed had tuned him out. He was looking solemnly in Draco's direction, his eyebrows knitted together. For some reason, Draco was arguing with one of the Crabbe/Goyles. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying to one another, but judging by the expressions on each of their faces, it looked like Crabbe/Goyle had done or said something that Draco didn't want him to. Ed ached to move closer but couldn't with Zabini on him.

From the front of the room, the Heads of Houses called for silence and the students settled down at once. Even Zabini shut his mouth and turned to face the professors, removing his arm from Ed's shoulder and giving them his full attention. All except for Draco and Crabbe/Goyle. They simply turned the volume down slightly. Ed carefully inched toward them.

"Good morning," said the Ministry wizard. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks."

While the wizard introduced himself, Edward managed to move close enough to Draco and Crabbe/Goyle to hear what they were saying. He stayed a few feet away and in front of them, keeping his eyes on the Twycross guy so that it didn't look like he was listening in.

"...get caught?"

"For the last time, you _won't_!"

"I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition Tests in time..."

"But what if...!"

"Don't pretend to grow a brain now, Crabbe. Just do as you're-"

"Malfoy!"

Professor McGonagall's voice had been such a loud, commanding bark that Ed had almost mistaken it for the shot of a gun. "Be quiet and pay attention!"

Ed turned around so that he could see Draco, plastering an innocent, curious look on his face. Draco's cheeks flushed a dull pink and he stepped away from the Crabbe/Goyle he was arguing with. He frowned at McGonagall as he did so, the look in his silver eyes clearly one of annoyance and anger. Ed then turned back slightly to look at the professor to see that she was looking directly at Draco with a stern look on her face. He noted that Snape also had an annoyed look on his face, though it was probably because of the fact that McGonagall had reprimanded one of his House.

The Ministry wizard didn't seem to have noticed a single thing.

"...by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests," Twycross continued. "As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts."

_'It's usually impossible, period,' _Ed thought bitterly.

"The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to participate. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try."

Here the wizard took a moment to let his eyes sweep over everyone's faces, possibly to allow everyone's imaginations run wild with gruesome possibilities. Ed rolled his eyes as he finally continued talking. "I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

The crowd of students scrambled to separate from each other. Some people banged into one another and some demanded that others move out of their space. Ed and the other Slytherins were fortunate enough to be at the back. So he simply took a few casual steps in different directions until he had his five feet of space. Zabini and one of the Crabbe/Goyles were standing on either side of him, and diagonally behind him was Draco and the other Crabbe/Goyle. He was still within earshot of everything Draco said, which was perfect since Draco had apparently chosen to take advantage of the general upheaval to continue his argument with Crabbe/Goyle.

"It's an easy enough task for you and Goyle to handle. I'm not asking you to prove Golpalott's bloody Third Law."

Crabbe/Goyle blinked, confused by the comment. "Yeah, but... See, it's... It's awful embarrassing and-"

"What's that matter to me?"

"Well, how much longer are we-"

"I don't know how much longer, all right?" Draco shot at him. His voice had gone up a notch, like he was completely unaware that anyone could hear them arguing. "It's taking longer than I thought it would."

Crabbe/Goyle opened his mouth to respond, but Draco cut him off, apparently knowing exactly what he was going to say. "Look, it's none of your business what I'm doing, Crabbe, you and Goyle just do as you're told and keep a lookout!"

"I tell my friends what I'm up to, if I want them to keep a lookout for me."

Ed blinked, recognizing Harry's voice. He turned his head only slightly so that he could see Harry standing directly behind Draco. _'When did he get there?'_

Draco spun around on the spot, his hand flying to his wand. But before he could even think about what hexes to shoot at Harry, the four Heads of House shouted, "Quiet!" from the front of the Hall. Silence fell over the students again and Draco turned slowly, grudgingly, to face them. Ed looked back at Harry for an extra moment, his brow furrowed. Just before Harry noticed and turned his bright green eyes on him, Ed turned to face the front again.

"Thank you," said Twycross. "Now then..."

He waved his wand in the air, making old-fashioned wooden hoops appear instantly on the floor in front of every student. Ed glared at his hoop as though it had done him some personal wrong, his arms folded indignantly over his chest.

"Let me guess," he muttered to Zabini. "We're going to try to Apparate into that hoop, aren't we?"

Zabini eyed the wooden hoop for a moment and shrugged. "Likely."

Ed snorted. "Wow."

"It's less than five feet away," Zabini smirked. "How hard can this possibly be?"

"The important thing to remember when Apparating are the three D's!" announced Twycross. "Destination, Determination, Deliberation! Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the desired _destination_. In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

Three cheers for predictability. Ed rolled his eyes and took a moment to look around at all the other students. They all looked furtively about them as though they wanted to make sure they weren't the only ones staring into their hoop, then did as they were told. Ed's gaze lingered for a moment on Draco and then on Harry. Draco was looking determinedly at the floor enclosed by his hoop, his lips drawn into a tight line. It looked like the argument he'd had with Crabbe/Goyle never happened, though it was hard to say the same for Harry. His eyes kept darting between his hoop and the back of Draco's head. With an exasperated sigh, Ed turned back around.

"Step two," said Twycross, "focus your _determination _to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"

Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. _'I don't think so.'_

He kept his arms folded over his chest and glanced around him again. He wanted to laugh at the faces that some students were making. A few of their faces had turned bright pink and veins were straining to pop out on their necks. They looked more like they were trying to force something out of their asses than trying to be determined.

"Step three," called Twycross, "and only when I give the command... Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with _deliberation_! On my command now... one-"

Lots of people gave sudden starts, looking alarmed at being asked to Apparate so quickly. Ed couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"-two-"

This was going to be good.

"-THREE!"

He watched as everyone around him spun on the spot, only to lose their balance and practically fall flat on their faces. A few of them really did slip and fall on their backs, and Ed noticed some guy behind him had done some sort of pirouetting leap into his hoop with his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he looked momentarily thrilled and Ed immediately burst into roaring laughter.

"Oh _man_!" he laughed, unable to contain himself. "You guys should've seen how stupid you all looked! It was _hilarious_!"

Everyone within earshot of Ed shot him piercing looks. Zabini and Draco seemed especially annoyed with his laughter. "Shut it, Elric."

But he couldn't. Even if Ed had wanted to stop laughing, he didn't see it happening any time soon. From the front of the room, Twycross was looking around the Hall at all the students as they either cursed their failure or laughed at their friends, his face blank. It seemed clear that he hadn't expected anything better from them.

"Never mind, never mind..."

Ed finally calmed himself down just enough to speak properly and gave Zabini a hearty slap on the back. "Well, the important thing is that you tried," he said, trying to steady his voice. "So I guess it's time for everyone to go back to the common room and-"

"Adjust your hoops, please," came Twycross's voice, "and back to your original positions..."

"Huh? Back to our..." Ed blinked. "There's a round two?"

"Obviously," snapped Draco. "So get back in position and give it a try, Elric. If you find us not being able to Apparate so funny why don't you show us what we're doing wrong."

"I don't Apparate," Ed scoffed in response.

Draco smirked. "I wonder why not."

Ed frowned at the obvious challenge. He narrowed his eyes at Draco and defiantly stepped back into his original position. As Draco and Zabini also readjusted themselves, Ed stared grudgingly into the space within the hoop. All he was supposed to do was focus on that spot, decide with every fiber of his being that he wanted to be standing there, and then... What was the last one?

"Once again, now, on my command... One-"

_Turn on the spot, feel your way into nothingness, and move with deliberation_. Ed frowned. What the hell did that mean?

"-two-"

He decided he'd just spin around and hope for the best. He knew he was going to end up looking just as stupid as the rest of them and that didn't sit with him very well.

"-THREE!"

Ed turned himself all the way around and almost tripped. Thankfully he'd managed to keep himself from falling to the ground, but he still staggered slightly to catch himself. Finding himself in the exact same spot he was before, Ed frowned.

"Not as easy as you thought, is it?" mocked Zabini, even though he hadn't done any better.

The other students nearby also gave Ed mocking looks which he promptly ignored. He didn't mind not being good at magic. His talents were with alchemy and he hadn't expected to actually gain anything out of going to this school from the start. If they wanted to insult him to make themselves feel better, that was fine with Ed. After all, _they _were the ones who were really trying to Apparate and failing.

Since no one near him would let Ed stop after the one try, he joined the rest of the students in their attempts. It was out of sheer annoyance with his failure that he decided to really put in an effort by the time the fourth try came around. What was worse was the fact that he had no idea what Apparating was supposed to feel like. How would he know if his efforts were bringing him any closer?

Immediately after the failed fourth attempt, a horrible screech of pain echoed out over the Great Hall. Ed's heart skipped a beat and he froze, his gold eyes wide. Something had gone wrong. That much he already knew. He could see everyone looking around, terrified, and then finally their gazes settled somewhere. For a moment, Ed didn't want to look, but ever so slowly, he also turned around. His eyes grew even wider.

_"I'll show you 'true knowledge.'"_

A girl had managed to Apparate into her hoop. But she was wobbling unsteadily, a look of horror across her face. Ed felt his stomach twist.

_"Please," he begged, turning around to face the hazy figure, "let me see it again! Just one more time!"_

_"No can do," the figure said, wagging a finger in the air. "That's all I can show for this much passage fee."_

_He blinked his golden eyes in confusion. "Passage fee?"_

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Ed watched the Heads of Houses as they walked quickly and purposefully toward the girl, talking amongst themselves in low tones. He gripped one hand to his stomach, his face pale. He thought he was going to be sick.

_"That's correct," said the figure casually. "Passage fee."_

_He raised his left leg into the air, taking a step forward. And as he did so, the haze of his left leg seemed to take on a more solid form. Flesh converged on his leg like bits of data, being pulled out of the air to shape itself. But in alchemy, something cannot be created from nothing. A leg couldn't be made without any raw materials..._

_There was a strange, tingling feeling in his own leg like it had fallen asleep. The boy looked down. His eyes grew wide._

The girl finally lost her balance and dropped to the floor, still staring back at her starting point in sheer horror... where her left leg had been left behind.

_"Equivalent trade, no?" grinned the figure, his face barely a few inches from Ed's nose. "Ain't that right, alchemist boy?"_

Ed bolted forward, ignoring the surprised cries of his classmates. The Heads of House were already at the unfortunate girl's side; Snape and one of the other Heads were helping her hobble back toward her starting point and her left leg. Ed pushed himself to run faster, but before he could get too close, Professor McGonagall spotted him and held him back.

"Mr. Elric, what do you think you are doing?"

"Let go of me! I have to see..." Although Ed's tone was forceful, his voice seemed strained, like he was having a hard time getting the words out. "Her leg... Let me see her leg!"

Before Ed could break free, the other Heads of House had already converged on the girl, blocking her from Ed's view. There was a great bang and a puff of purple smoke which eventually cleared away to reveal the girl reunited with her leg, sobbing and looking utterly horrified. The expression on Ed's face was similar, but it was quickly replaced with anger as he rounded on McGonagall, his eyes flashing.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" he demanded, pointing at the girl.

McGonagall seemed mildly confused as she looked into Ed's face. "That was-"

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," said Twycross dispassionately from the front of the room, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently _determined_. You must concentrate continuously upon your _destination_, and move, without haste, but with _deliberation_..."

The bored tone in Twycross's voice irritated Ed immensely. How could someone talk so casually about losing one's limbs? He immediately turned his glare on Twycross. The wizard was too far away to punch normally, and he just barely restrained himself from throwing an alchemical one at him through the floor. So he did the only thing he could do from that distance: Yell.

"THIS BETTER BE SOME KIND OF JOKE!"

His voice rang out so loud and fierce that it bounced off of every side of the Great Hall. A deathly silence followed as every single pair of eyes turned to look at Ed. He was beside himself with anger, his eyes shooting daggers as he looked at the Ministry wizard. Twycross himself wasn't sure whether or not he should be upset with the boy's rudeness or afraid of the hatred in his eyes.

"How can you talk about this 'Splinching' like it was nothing?" he growled, his voice still audible from across the Hall due to the silence. "This is all just _normal _to you, isn't it? You were expecting people to mess up and have their limbs end up all over the place. Just because you've Apparated so much that you're barely even here anymore, you think it shouldn't matter. You were completely prepared to just shrug it off like nothing happened!"

"Mr. Elric," Professor McGonagall called, attempting to calm him down. She moved forward to hold Ed back by the shoulder. "Mr. Elric, please return-"

Ed jerked away from her and jabbed a finger in the direction of the Splinching victim. She was possessively clutching her left leg to her chest, the horror in her eyes still apparent.

"WELL, TELL THAT TO _HER_, YOU SON OF A BITCH! IT WASN'T NOTHING TO _HER_, NOW, WAS IT? SHE HAD NO REASON TO LOSE A LEG OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS! AND DON'T TRY TO FORCE FEED US YOUR FUCKING BULLSHIT ABOUT INSUFFICIENT DETERMINATION OR WHATEVER, 'CAUSE _THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH_!"

"Mr. Elric!" McGonagall exclaimed, a scandalized look on her face upon hearing so much profanity. "Miss Bones is just fine now! She's back to normal and there's nothing to-"

"But what if that girl's leg didn't just get separated, huh?" Ed challenged, redirecting his anger to the professor at his side. "What if it got destroyed, or taken away? What if she'd Apparated to the other side of the world? And what if it wasn't an external limb?! What if was a lung or heart or brain?! What would you have done _then_, huh?"

Before Ed could go on (and it certainly looked like he had a lot more to say), McGonagall abruptly got to her feet, shooting Ed a stern look that effectively silenced him. "That is _enough_, Mr. Elric," she snapped. "You have caused enough of a scene here already. You will return to your place at once and allow the lesson to continue. Is that clear?"

Ed frowned at the professor, but chose not to argue.

"Now return to your place, Mr. Elric. And that's _fifty points _from Slytherin for misconduct in the presence of a Ministry official."

Professor Snape could be seen scowling in annoyance. The Slytherins that heard this immediately glared at Ed as he silently turned around and stalked back toward his hoop. He glared at some of the other students as they looked either at him or at the girl that had Splinched. He thought he recognized a glimmer of excitement in their faces, which only upset Ed more. Losing one's limbs wasn't funny or exciting in any way, and anyone who thought so was a moron in Ed's mind. He thought about snapping at a few of them, but changed his mind. He wasn't about to waste any energy on those idiots.

When he reached his spot, Ed found Zabini staring off the way he came, his face fractionally paler than normal and his eyes wide. It was almost a comfort to know that there were still some people who fully grasped the severity of what had just happened.

"Told you so."

Once Ed was back in position, the Heads of Houses returned to the front of the Hall to continue supervising the students. Twycross resumed the lesson, though it seemed Ed's outburst had rattled him slightly. Everyone within a fifteen foot radius of Ed shot him strange looks for the rest of the lesson. If he noticed them at all, he didn't care. He was too upset.

An hour later, not a single person had successfully Apparated into their hoops. The Splinching of the girl was apparently the closest that anyone got. None of the professors seemed fazed by this and at the end of the hour, Twycross prepared himself to leave. He fastened his cloak at his neck and turned to face the students.

"Until next Saturday, everybody," he said, "and do not forget: _Destination, Determination, Deliberation_."

He then waved his wand, Vanishing everyone's hoops, and walked out of the Hall with Professor McGonagall as his escort. The students followed suit, talking amongst themselves as they did so. Ed shoved his hands into his pockets, glaring at the ground as he walked, tailing after Draco and the other Slytherins. Before he walked out the door, he was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder and forced to stop. When he looked up to see who it was, he found Snape glowering down his long, hooked nose at him. Ed frowned.

"Yes, professor?" he muttered, loathing the fact that he had to show him any form of respect.

"You're coming with me, Mr. Elric," said the professor, his voice eerily soft and calm. "I believe a talk with the headmaster concerning today's behavior is in order." When it looked like Ed was going to protest, he added, "Or perhaps you would prefer another detention sentence with me?"

Ed's frown deepened. He wasn't sure what he could expect as punishment from Professor Dumbledore, but he was sure he would prefer it to having to spend more time with Snape. He couldn't afford to have any more detentions like his previous one now that Draco was back on the move.

He slid away from Snape's grasp and followed the professor obediently toward the headmaster's office. He passed Alphonse on the way up and had to send him discreet signals not to worry. Snape was muttering the entire way about his disappointment and how Ed needed to learn to show proper respect to authority figures. Ed remained silent, his frown still set on his face like a stone carving. He outranked almost every person in the building! They should be showing _him _some respect!

The headmaster admitted Ed and Snape into his office, looking at both of them with interest as they entered.

"How may I help you, Severus?"

"Young Mr. Elric here-" He shoved Ed forcefully into one of the seats in front of the headmaster's desk. "-put on quite a scene in front of the Ministry appointed Apparition instructor during the lesson in the Great Hall. I believe there should be some punishment involved concerning his lack of discipline."

For a long moment, Dumbledore remained silent. He kept his blue eyes on Ed as though he were watching and studying him. Ed slowly adjusted himself in the chair, keeping his eyes to the floor. At length, Dumbledore turned back to Snape.

"Very well, Severus," he said calmly. "I will handle this accordingly."

Snape frowned disapprovingly at being dismissed. He shot Ed one last glare as he brushed past him and left the office. Ed scowled slightly in his direction. No doubt he'd wanted to hang around the office to ensure Ed received a punishment that he approved of. Once the door was shut and they were sure Snape had gone, Dumbledore once again set his gaze on Ed.

"Would you like to tell me what happened?"

Silence. Ed kept his eyes glued to the floor, his mind in a whirl. Even if he _did _want to tell the headmaster what exactly he'd been thinking at the time, he didn't even know where to begin. So many horrible memories had started to drift around in his mind over the past hour. Memories of the gate, of Al's body crumbling apart just beyond the reach of his fingers, and worst of all the screaming. The seemingly endless cries of pain and horror...

"Sir..." He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the memories out. "Let's just get this over with. Just punish me already."

Dumbledore frowned. "I have no intention of punishing you, Edward. Not until I have the whole story." When he still failed to receive an answer, he released a sad sigh. "I know you must have your reasons, but I need to understand them as well."

Ed balled his hands into tight fists and looked up, his gaze meeting Dumbledore's for the first time since he entered the office. "With all due respect, sir... I don't think you can."

They both fell silent again, Ed dropping his gaze back onto the floor. Professor Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, looking at the young alchemist as though he was a great mystery.

"It has to do with Miss Bones' Splinching incident..." Ed flinched visibly in his seat. "Am I wrong?"

His hand moved unconsciously to grip his auto-mail, but still refused to speak. Dumbledore heaved another great sigh and shut his eyes.

"It must have been a very difficult and disturbing thing for you, of all people, to see. The Fullmetal Alchemist. One of a handful of people who know the true pain of losing a limb to the great unknown."

Ed's expression crumpled sadly and he looked back up at Dumbledore, a pleading look in his golden eyes. How the old wizard always seemed to know absolutely everything would always be a mystery to him. He quickly bowed his head again, biting down on his lower lip. He was silent for another moment, fully aware that Dumbledore's eyes were still on him.

"When I saw what happened to that girl," he said at length, gritting his teeth, "and how calm that bastard was about it all, I just... I couldn't take it anymore! All these memories just came back, unwanted, lingering in front of my eyes, and I..." He let his voice trail off there, taking a deep, calming breath and running a hand through his hair. "I just... don't want anyone making the same mistakes I did. I was such an idiot back then... No one else should have to end up this way... to end up..." He looked meaningfully at his right hand. "Like me."

"Ahh..." Dumbledore nodded his head slowly, thoughtfully. "Then it must have been quite a shock to see how Miss Bones' predicament was fixed, wasn't it, Edward?"

Ed didn't have to answer. Dumbledore simply knew by the look on his face that it was true.

"It just happened so damn _quickly_," he said, frowning. "So easily..."

"It's hardly that simple, Edward. The magic performed may have appeared to be quite effortless to you, but nothing could be farther from the truth. It required immediate action from all the Heads of House who have vastly more knowledge and skill that certainly surpasses a sixth year. Even someone as brilliant as you, Edward."

Ed was surprised. Up until now, he'd noticed that many magic spells were designed to make certain tasks easier or even to simply defy all natural laws. They all seemed so easy to perform; after all, it was a mere incantation and a flick of the wand that made it work. Did that mean that the theory he'd come up with before had some validity...? So then there really was a way to...

"Rather than confronting magic and battling against it with the science of alchemy, you should try to use magic to assist you in resolving your problems."

Dumbledore's eyes had suddenly regained their usual twinkle. Ed just looked at the professor for a moment, convinced that Dumbledore had just seen right into his mind.

"I know you considered this before, Edward," he said evenly, rising from his seat and moving toward the bookshelf. His blue eyes swept over each row, intently searching for a specific title. "Maybe you never found the correct starting point. However, I believe I have found something that could be of some use to you. It may or may not give you the answers you are looking for, but it is certainly worth a read." At last he picked out a musty-looking book and pulled it toward him, flipping through the pages. He then walked back toward Ed and held it out for him to take. "Here. Consider it a belated birthday present."

Ed's eyes, wide with surprise, slowly traveled from Dumbledore's face to the book in his hand. It was hard-bound book of average thickness, with a red and gold spine that had worn considerably over the years. The pages had apparently yellowed with age, but it was still in good condition. The title wasn't written anywhere on its worn, black cover, so Ed would have to open it to find out what it was. Ed just stared at it for a moment, a part of him wondering how the headmaster had managed to distinguish this unmarked book from the numerous others in the shelf. Then, rising to his feet, he cautiously reached out and took it.

He fingered the worn, bent edge of the cover for a moment and then tucked it under his arm. He'd take a look at what it was a little later on. Ed then gave the professor a small smile, his mind still lingering on what had been said.

"Thank you, sir."

The headmaster smiled, his blue eyes still twinkling. "You may head back to your dormitory now. Your classmates may be wondering where you have gone off to."

Ed fought down a snort. _'That doesn't seem too likely. The Slytherins are probably just looking for new rumors to spread about me.'_

Of course, he didn't dare say such a thing aloud in front of the headmaster and simply kept his mouth shut. Ed bowed slightly in Dumbledore's direction and then turned to leave. Before he reached the door, however, a new thought crossed his mind and he turned back.

"Sir... You're not going to issue me any punishment? I mean, I _did _interrupt the Apparition lesson this morning, and Snape's probably..."

"_Professor _Snape," Dumbledore chided. Then his smile broadened into a slight grin. "Well then, if he asks, just tell him I gave you fifty whiplashes."

Ed blinked in surprise and then finally laughed. "Roger that!"

Dumbledore nodded his head, dismissing Ed from his office. Ed was still grinning as he slipped out of the office and started the long trek back to the Slytherin dorms. As he walked, he examined the book Dumbledore had given him, looking at it from all sides before finally opening it. His eyes grew wide when he saw its title.

_Magical Gates and Passageways of Legend and Fact._

Only then did Ed notice a small slip of folded parchment that had been inserted amongst the frayed pages. He pulled it out and, unfolding it, read the short note that was inside, written in thin, slanted handwriting.

_What was lost can be found  
What has been stolen can be taken back_

An excited grin spread across Ed's face. He glanced back in the direction he had just left, silently thanking the headmaster from the bottom of his heart, and then raced off to find Al.

* * *

**Author's Note: **i was really excited to write this chapter for the Apparition lesson. honestly, when i first read this in the book i couldn't stop thinking about how heartless Twycross was coming across. i'd be completely freaked out to find my leg got separated from me!! and then when i put it in an FMA context, well... this is what came to me. makes sense, though, right? anyways, the flashback with the hazy figure is a manga thing, didn't happen in the anime for plot reasons (which is kinduva shame, 'cause i thought it was awesome!). 

i also originally had a very anti-magic rant come out of Ed when he was talking to Dumbledore, but it got scratched 'cause it started going off in a different direction than i wanted it to. not surprising, considering it came to me in a big rush and i thought it just sounded cool 'cause it was all angsty and emotional... but then when i started putting it into the scene, it wasn't as good anymore. XD hence the nixing.

this is one of my favorite chapters so far. maybe it's the manga-referenced flashback... maybe it's the talk with Dumbledore... maybe because it's so centered around Ed... or maybe it's the fact that there's more profanity than usual (i'm such a potty mouth, i honestly am)... hehehe, well, i dunno why exactly i like it so much, but i do. so i was a little hesitant to put it up... i just wanted to be sure that it was as perfect as i could make it beforehand. so please please please PLEEEEEASE leave a review to let me know what you think. it would be so appreciated! thanks! love to the readers!!


	25. Commercial Holidays

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent:D

**Author's Note: **yay! i'm so glad chapter 24 got the response it did:D i was worried that people wouldn't like it and would start to hate on me intensely. so thanks to everyone that reviewed!! i love you guys!! ...in a strictly platonic author-reader way. XD

i'm amused that everyone's wondering if Ed's auto-mail will be found out... i suppose it will eventually, but thankfully Crabbe and Goyle aren't the brightest crayons in the box, so they didn't notice that the limbs they were holding were unusually cold and hard. so his secret's safe... for now. _(evil laughter)_

WARNING: in the beginning of this chapter... Zabini kinda... well, i've mentioned in previous chapters that he's a bit sex-obsessed, right? so it's not that big of a surprise, but i guess you could say this is the first time that he really shows his true inner pervert. he doesn't really _do _anything (that'd be so awkward to write...), but some of the things he says are for... mature-er audiences, i guess. so i just thought i'd give you the heads up... and also, it's not completely my fault!

that said, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 25**  
**Commercial Holidays**

For the next few weeks, Edward carried the book that Dumbledore had given him everywhere he went and read it whenever he could. It did get him in trouble on occasion, but only if the teacher noticed that he wasn't reading the textbook, so he was usually able to get away with it during Arithmancy and History of Magic. It was nearly impossible in his other classes; he'd only tried to read the book once during Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He'd gotten called on for his inattention and, since he'd been able to answer their questions correctly by reciting almost word for word what was written in the assigned textbooks, very narrowly escaped severe punishment from both Snape and McGonagall. But with Snape dogging his every move, looking for excuses to send him back to detention, Ed didn't dare try again after that. Too risky.

Still, he couldn't help himself; this new development was extremely exciting to him. For once, he had actually gotten his hands on something he could use. It had never occurred to him to skip straight to research on the gate - or rather, the Doors of Truth - itself. He couldn't remember why, but it was better late than never.

The book actually held some decent information about the Doors of Truth. The book still attested that they were an unproven myth, but strangely enough the information seemed quite accurate. According to the book, within the doorway was the stored truth; a source of information concerning a variety of things, possibly everything there was to know about the world. But the matter of what lay beyond the door remained a mystery. The book had a rough sketch of what the doors were meant to look like and, since Ed was one of few people who had actually seen it, it appeared to be accurate. All of this surprised Ed and, even though the book insisted that all its information had come from rumors and legend, he was convinced that whoever had written that article had seen the doors before.

Once he had committed as much of that information to memory as he could and scribbled all relevant information down in his research notebook, Ed also took the time to note down all of the other entries, just in case they offered alternatives. So far, he only had simple theories. Even so, the book had been much more useful to Edward than any of the previous books he'd read put together, and he was sure that it was hiding a great deal of information somewhere within its passages.

To that end, he studied the book almost religiously and over time it had grown in thickness because of all the extra slips of paper he'd tucked between the pages as notes. No one had been able to talk to him properly since the Apparition lesson, so everyone's burning questions concerning what he'd done that morning remained unanswered. The Slytherins all thought he'd gone mad and Pansy (for reasons unknown only to Edward) tried especially hard to return him to normal. Only Alphonse knew what was going on in Ed's mind (more or less), since Ed had quickly told him everything the day he received the book. However, that was pretty much the last time Al had heard his older brother's voice.

Then suddenly, for the first time in almost two weeks, Ed surfaced. He shut the book for the first time during daylight hours, put it down on the desk in front of him and leaned back in his chair, heaving a sigh. He was completely exhausted, physically and mentally, and was in desperate need of a break. Unfortunately for him, his timing couldn't have been worse.

"He lives!" someone cried from the door to the dormitory. Ed gave a start and turned to face the speaker. He frowned when he saw that Zabini had just strolled into the room, a smug smile on his face. "Perfect timing, Elric! You wouldn't want to miss _this _holiday. Pansy's been up in arms all week preparing for it."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Any holiday Pansy enjoys can't be good news for me."

Zabini smirked. "Quite a few of us thought you were gonna stay buried in that bloody book until the end of the school year. We even had a bet running on it."

Ed sighed again and turned away, rubbing his eyes. "So who won?"

"Let's see... the closest bid to two weeks was..." Zabini looked thoughtful for a moment. "Malfoy, I suppose."

"_Malfoy_?"

"Yeah. He had a bid for... eighteen days. Nott had it to the end of term and I bet on a month."

Ed blinked in surprise to hear this, but immediately shook it off. He rose to his feet and stretched out his cramped limbs. "So what's this holiday that's coming up?"

Blaise's jaw dropped and he gave Ed an incredulous stare. "Don't you realize what tomorrow is?"

"Uh... should I?"

He slapped his forehead in disbelief. "Blimey! Here I thought you were some sort of genius, but _Merlin _you're daft!"

Ed frowned in annoyance as he moved to put the book into his trunk. "Then just tell me! What's this holiday that Pansy's so excited about?"

"Not just Pansy, mate! Every girl in Hogwarts!"

He snapped the lid shut and gave Zabini a blank stare. "And that is...?"

Zabini could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Bloody hell! Chocolates? Madam Puddifoot's? The colors red and white? Hot snogging sessions in closets and bathrooms? Is any of that ringing any bells in that bolloxed up head of yours?"

Ed shook his head. Like he was really supposed to pay attention to holidays or any other sort of special occasion. They had never been important, and his time - time that could be spent searching for ways to turn him and Al back to normal - was much too valuable to waste on such meaningless celebrations. This was the first time he'd really been forced to celebrate any holidays in five years. And he was expected to still remember them all?

Finally, Blaise was fed up. "Do I have to spell it out for you, Elric? IT'S VALENTINE'S TOMORROW!"

"Oh, Valentine's... Valentine's Day, huh?" The realization hit Ed very numbly in the side of his brain. He merely nodded his head absently. It took a few more seconds to properly register. His eyes grew wide. Horrible, suppressed memories of his fan club began to surface. _'Oh, shit.'_

"EXACTLY! Bloody hell, I can't believe you! This is every man's excuse to get out there and shag women senseless!"

"_Holy shit_, Zabini!" Ed cried, ruffling up his own hair. "Do you seriously think of nothing else but sex and women?"

Zabini looked back at him solemnly. "Would you rather I thought about sex and _men_? Honestly, Elric, don't pester me with your wild fantasies!"

"_What was that_...?" Ed's voice came out in a dangerous growl.

Zabini sighed, exasperated. "Damn, Elric, you are _never _going to get laid."

Ed glared at him.

"Anyway, listen. Everyone's been getting ready for it, deciding on dates and whatnot. There are a few nancy boys who've actually gone to the trouble of buying _gifts _for their so-called 'one-and-only's. As for me..." He smirked, straightening his collar and adjusting his robes. "I'm a gift all on my own. Any bird would be lucky to have me ask her out tomorrow."

Ed rolled his eyes. _'Typical,'_ he thought in annoyance. _'Only an idiot like Zabini would consider himself God's gift to women.'_

"Of course," Zabini went on, still feeling quite smug, "there are only a select few who deserve me. Wanna see my list?"

"You have a _list_?"

His smug smirk only grew as he reached into his robe and pulled out a small slip of parchment. "'Top Five Most Shaggable Girls at Hogwarts.' Have a look."

He then handed the list over to Ed, whose eyes narrowed as he read the names aloud from highest ranked to lowest. "Padma Patil, Parvati Patil... _Hermione Granger_? Cho Chang... and _Ginny Weasley_?" He couldn't keep the shock out of his voice when he saw Hermione and Ginny's names on his list.

"I would have added that foxy brunette I went with to Slughorn's party," he said with a shrug, not noticing Ed's shock. "If only I could remember her name... Oh well, no use worrying over that. I was going to rank them based on breast size, but Granger always wears her cloak over her school uniform..."

The paper crumpled in Ed's hand, his grip on it tightening. His right eye was twitching in irritation as Zabini went on. He couldn't help but feel a very powerful need to defend Hermione's dignity.

"I mean, it's hard to tell, y'know? She might have the best knockers you've ever seen and no one would find out! Man, what I wouldn't give to see her in that tube dress again. I guess I owe you one, eh? Granger used to be non-existent on my list, but thanks to you, she ranked as number three!"

His hand was balling into a tight fist. _'Sex obsessed son of a...'_

"Care to give me some insight, Elric?"

Ed was suddenly pulled from his train of malicious thought and he just looked at Zabini, angry and confused. Mostly angry, actually. He was imagining just how nice a giant dent between the eyes would look on the tall black boy's face.

"Insight?" he growled. "On _what_?"

Zabini grinned hungrily. "Granger! You _must _have seen them. Word with the portraits is that you two got awful intimate after Slughorn's party, so fess up! Is she a regular C cup?"

"_WHAT_?" Ed's entire head went red, his eyes practically spewing fire.

Unfortunately for him, Zabini interpreted Ed's reaction in entirely the wrong way. "OH, ELRIC, YOU STUD! YOU'RE MY BLOODY HERO! HOW BIG ARE THEY? DID THEY INSTANTLY HARDEN UNDER YOUR TOUCH? DID SHE MOAN YOUR NAME OUT WHEN THEY DID?"

Ed barely controlled himself from throwing a punch that would crack Zabini's skull wide open. Instead, he threw the now completely crumpled up list as hard as he could into his face. "FUCK YOU, YOU SICK, PERVERTED BASTARD! HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET _ANY _WOMEN _AT ALL_? I SWEAR, I SHOULD DO EVERYONE A FAVOR AND JUST CASTRATE YOU _RIGHT NOW_!"

With that, Ed quickly stormed out of the dormitory, muttering angrily to himself about how he really should have thrown that punch. Zabini grinned lazily after him and just watched as the door slammed shut.

"That man's in desperate need of a good shag."

* * *

After having a brief talk with Alphonse about all the excitement in the air concerning Valentine's Day, the Elric brothers came to the conclusion that they would also celebrate this year. Al was very eager and forthcoming about the idea and Ed knew why. He just didn't have the heart to tell him that one of the school's biggest romantic players had Ginny on his list of "Most Shaggable Girls"... 

While Al had a girl in mind already, Ed had none. The only girl that he had honestly befriended since arriving at Hogwarts was Hermione, and she was pretty much off-limits Valentine's wise. Of course, there was always Pansy, but Ed wouldn't touch her with a twenty-foot pole if he could help it. The only other girl he could think of sending a Valentine to was Winry, even though she was miles away in Amestris and having the time of her life working in Rush Valley.

So Winry it was, even though he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea and couldn't think of a single word to say to her. Which was why he was sitting under a tree in one of the many courtyards on the grounds, chewing at the end of his quill as he stared at the blank roll of parchment in front of him. He couldn't figure out whether or not he was supposed to be romantic toward her because it was a Valentine. This was quickly becoming the most difficult letter he'd ever had to write.

Of course, he wasn't the only one in the courtyard. There was quite a large amount of students sitting around the courtyard that afternoon, some of them working on what Ed could only assume were Valentine projects of their own. The others were obviously couples making googly, affectionate faces at each other and cooing about their plans for the next day.

Just then, Hermione Granger entered the courtyard in a huff, clutching a stack of textbooks and papers to her chest and a furious expression across her face. Her eyes swept over the area, searching for a place to seat herself, and stopped when she saw Ed. The anger in her eyes melted away and, taking a deep, calming breath, Hermione approached him. He didn't seem to notice her at all, apparently concentrating very hard on his roll of parchment.

"Hello, Edward," she said when she was closer. His head snapped up suddenly to look at her in surprise. "Erm... what are you doing over here?"

Ed opened his mouth to speak but quickly changed his mind. He looked back down at the blank sheet and immediately blushed. Noticing the significant reddening of his cheeks, Hermione grinned.

"Oh, that's right! Valentine's Day is tomorrow." She laughed lightly. "Ron was doing the same thing in the common room." She then sat down beside him, tucking her robes under her and setting her things in her lap. "So, who's the lucky girl?"

"Th-The lucky girl? Wh-_What _girl?" he stammered, his voice awkwardly high. Ed's blush became a deeper shade of crimson and he began to fiddle absently with the quill in his hands. "N-No! I-It's not like that, see... I just... I, uh... well..."

At once, Hermione looked away, suddenly ashamed of herself. "Oh, I'm sorry, Edward! It's really none of my business! I shouldn't have asked!"

"Huh?" Ed looked over at Hermione, his eyes wide in surprise. "N-No, Hermione... Really, it's-"

"I really get too nosy sometimes," she said with a disappointed sigh. "I thought I outgrew that. But..." Her face broke into another warm smile. "Whoever it is you _are _writing to, I hope she knows how lucky she is."

Ed blinked. "Uh... Why do you say that?"

A slight blush came over Hermione's cheeks. "Well, maybe boys don't really realize it, but... girls like it when they get letters from their significant others, or... just any boy, as a matter of fact. They may not show it, but they really do." She laughed breezily. "Besides, I should know. I share a dorm with Parvati and Lavender, after all. And they just can't seem to keep quiet about Valentine's Day."

Suddenly, Hermione became solemn and her eyes lowered toward the ground. Ed shifted uncomfortably in the silence and soon cleared his throat to break it.

"Don't... Don't you get letters too, Hermione?"

A small smile returned to Hermione's face and her cheeks turned pink again. "Well, yes... I get a letter from Viktor every Valentine's Day."

"Viktor?"

"Yes," she confirmed, glancing back up at Ed expectantly. "You know... Viktor Krum?"

Ed gave her a blank stare. Hermione's expectant look faltered slightly in confusion. He didn't understand. Was the name supposed to ring a bell?

"He's an international Quidditch player? Renowned as the best seeker in the world?"

Ed smiled nervously, the corners of his lips twitching. "Oh... Quidditch, right." Hermione gave him a funny look upon hearing the strangely unenthusiastic tone in his voice. "Sorry, I... don't really keep up with the sport."

Hermione's eyes grew wide in wonder. "Really? Well, that's refreshing!" She laughed. "Edward, you must be the only boy I know who isn't obsessed with it."

The anxious look on Ed's face was quickly replaced with a broad grin, even though he wasn't entirely sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. Hermione laughed again before turning her eyes wistfully toward the sky.

"Well, at least even with Viktor playing Quidditch, he still remembers to send me something. But it's becoming less and less frequent these days..." Her expression saddened slightly. "Ron used to get so jealous every time I received a letter from him. Now, he doesn't really care since he has _Lavender _to keep him busy." She placed an extra amount of disgust and bitterness into her voice when she mentioned the other girl.

Ed nodded his head thoughtfully as several memories bubbled into his consciousness. The girl named Lavender was probably the one whose face seemed to have attached itself to Ron's. When he thought about it, he rarely ever saw the two of them as separate entities these days.

"It just doesn't make sense anymore," Hermione went on, sounding exasperated. "Valentine's Day, I mean. I know that may sound like the most cynical thing anyone could ever say, but I really feel so detached from the occasion. It's... just not that special to me anymore."

She heaved another discontented sigh, pulling her knees closer to her chest. Ed frowned sadly. He himself had never had a very high opinion of the occasion. Over the course of time it had become completely commercial, designed to make people feel either incredibly lovey-dovey or lonely and depressed. Then again, that was the view of someone who hadn't celebrated a single holiday in five years and had been exposed to the cold, hard facts of the world since before he turned twelve.

"Hermione," he started, wanting to cheer her up somehow. "That... That's not true. Valentine's Day should be special for you. I'm sure you'll get more letters this year."

"It's not that, Ed," she sighed sadly. "I just wish Harry and Ron could see me like they _should_. I mean, not just as their friend, but as a _girl _as well. They seem to always think of me as 'one of the boys.'"

She rolled her eyes at that, pushing some of her hair out of her face. Ed's brow furrowed slightly. How could someone that looked the way Hermione did be seen as "one of the boys?" It seemed like such a ridiculous thought.

"I never really gave it much thought when I was eleven because I so desperately wanted people to like me. But now, no one sees me as anything but the brains of the group. It was never a problem for me, but it's just that... there are days when it bothers me. Valentine's Day in particular, which is tomorrow. People want to be noticed, remembered, loved... That's why letters make them feel good about themselves. It could just be a 'hello,' a 'Happy Valentine's Day,' nothing really elaborate, but... just something as a reminder that you know someone's thinking of you, that someone cares. It may not be anything really special, but it would be to them."

"Really?" Ed leaned back so that he was looking up at the sky through the leaves of the tree. He mulled over the things Hermione had said in his mind. "Just something to let them know they're someone in your life..."

"Well, I should think so. But it's not just the letters. Honestly, I could care less how many I get this year..." Hermione's eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully. "But... Edward, now that you mention it..."

Ed glanced back at Hermione. "Yeah?"

"I don't know, it's just that... Well, it's stupid, really."

Ed laughed slightly, leaning forward again. "Actually Hermione, knowing you, I find that highly unlikely."

Hermione grinned, blushing slightly at the praise. "Well, it's strange and... kind of silly. I always thought it was some sort of prank that maybe Fred and George - Ron's prankster twin brothers, by the way - would pull on me."

"Someone pulled a prank on you?"

"No... I just _thought _it was. But it's been happening ever since my fourth year at Hogwarts. It's now actually... Well, I just realized that it's the only thing that makes me look forward to Valentine's Day."

Ed leaned forward, prepared to listen intently to her story. When Hermione realized how attentive he'd become, she laughed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed.

"It's just that... usually the owls deliver Valentine's letters during breakfast, along with the one I get from Viktor. But..." She bit down on her lower lip. "I get something slightly different at night."

"What do you mean?"

Hermione could feel her cheeks burning again and she shook her head, embarrassed. "Ah, I don't know how to tell you this, Ed. I've never really told anyone about this. It just sounded so stupid to my ears when I tried to tell someone before."

She glanced over at Ed, half expecting him to back away, but he didn't. In fact, he was more interested to hear the story than ever. Biting down on her lip again, Hermione looked down into her lap before continuing.

"Well... Every night on Valentine's Day, ever since my fourth year, I've been getting a bouquet of the most beautiful red roses I've ever seen." She smiled fondly at the thought. "It's sent by this large, beautiful eagle owl with a letter attached to its leg. And the letter... It only ever says one thing, the same thing every single year. And it drives me nuts!"

Ed's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "What does it say?"

Hermione paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and then letting it out again. Slowly, she turned to look at Ed, a hint of sorrow in her eyes. "All it says is... '_If you only knew_...'"

They were both silent for a moment, looking solemnly into one another's faces. At length, Ed broke the silence.

"That's it?"

Hermione closed her eyes and slowly nodded her head, sighing heavily.

* * *

Blaise Zabini glanced nonchalantly over the stone railing as he and Malfoy walked down the corridor, heading for the Slytherin common room. As he did so, he caught sight of something that piqued his interest immensely. With a slight, mischievous grin on his face, he nudged Draco in the side and pointed toward the courtyard. 

"Oi, Malfoy, would you look at that?" He snickered softly. "Seems Granger and Elric are getting awful cozy, aren't they?"

Draco followed the direction in which Blaise was pointing and frowned. Sure enough, there they were: Ed and Hermione seated side by side under the shade of a tree, looking quite comfortable together. It was just enough to make his blood boil a little hotter than usual.

"Like I care," he muttered bitterly. He then brushed past Zabini roughly. "Let's just go."

Zabini looked miffed. "What? And pass up this opportunity to rain on Elric's little rendezvous?"

"Just leave them alone!" Malfoy snapped angrily. He paused to shoot his companion an especially piercing glare before continuing on his way. Zabini frowned.

"Geez, fine, mate. Blimey, you're no fun..."

* * *

Edward looked away from Hermione for a moment, not knowing what he could possibly say that could cheer her up. He turned his gaze on his quill and parchment, lying abandoned on the patch of grass next to him. Deciding it would probably be best to change the subject, he took the quill and parchment up in his hands with renewed energy and grinned. 

"I should thank you, Hermione."

Hermione turned to look at Ed, blinking in confusion. "Hm? For what?"

His grin broadened. "I think I finally know what I want to write in my letter."

"Glad I could help!" laughed Hermione. "She _is _really lucky, after all. She must be quite special to you."

A bright blush appeared on Ed's cheeks and he had to look away, rubbing the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture. "Well yeah, I guess... She's been a close friend of ours since we were young, for as long as I can remember."

* * *

"Now she's _laughing _with him," Blaise mused, still watching Ed and Hermione as they walked. "Never thought Elric could be so smooth, eh, Malfoy?" 

Draco growled at Zabini. "Shut it."

* * *

"You know something?" said Ed as he got started on his letter to Winry. "Harry and Ron must be blind." Hermione turned to look at Ed in surprise. He briefly glanced up from his letter to smile at her. "I mean, you really are amazing, Hermione. It's hard to believe they can't see what's right in front of them." 

The Gryffindor blushed slightly, pushing some stray hair out of her eyes. "Well, erm... that's really sweet of you to say, Edward. But there are _far _more horrible boys than them," she added hastily. "Draco Malfoy, for instance."

Ed's quill made a stray mark in his writing.

"I really can't understand how someone as nice as you can be friends with a git like that!"

He squirmed uncomfortably, suddenly unable to focus on writing his letter. "Hermione, Draco's really not all that bad once you get to know him," he told her quietly.

Hermione let out an exasperated breath, rolling her eyes. "Believe me, I know all there is to know about him."

"But Hermione, you should give him a chance. I mean, you _did _say you believed there was a different side to him, right?"

She fell silent for a moment, seeming to consider this idea. "I _want _to believe that," she murmured softly, looking off into the distance. "But..."

Ed kept one eye on her for a moment, waiting to see if she was going to say anything else. But she didn't and just stayed silent, her eyes taking on a thoughtful glaze. Ed watched her a little longer, still expecting something, but eventually gave up and tried to refocus himself on his letter to Winry. At length, Hermione gave a small, alarmed start as though she had just realized that there was somewhere she needed to be.

"Oh, I've got to get back," she said, slightly distraught. She then flashed a quick smile at Ed. "I'm glad I could help with your letter."

He laughed softly. "Yeah."

Hermione quickly gathered up her things in her arms and got to her feet. But before she could get too far, Ed stopped her. "Oh, wait!"

She turned back around, a curious look on her face. "Yes?"

Ed grinned. "You can expect to get one more letter tomorrow."

Hermione beamed. "Thanks, Edward."

She then walked back over and, bending down slightly, gave Ed a quick kiss on the cheek. Ed blinked up at Hermione's smiling face in surprise, his face now slightly red. This girl... was too friendly for her own good. What if somebody was watching them? If it were Alphonse then Ed would probably never hear the end of it!

"See you in class!"

* * *

Zabini openly gaped at what he had just seen, his eyes practically bulging out of his skull. 

"DAMN! Elric's definitely a girl-magnet!" He turned to Draco in astonishment. "We should be taking lessons from this guy, Malfoy!"

Draco, however, was nowhere near as impressed or amused as Blaise was. He wasn't gaping at the scene; he was _glaring _at Ed, who was now sitting under the tree by himself and looking pleasantly shocked. He clenched his jaw, trying to make it look like he wasn't seething with hatred toward the exchange student and failing miserably.

"Shut it, Zabini!" he barked, turning sharply on his heel. "Leave them the hell alone!"

Blaise watched helplessly as Draco stalked off. He scowled in his direction.

"Geez, what's up _his _ass?"

* * *

It was only long after he had finished writing his letter to Winry, sent it off with Eule, and was already walking to his next class that Ed realized something. It came in such a rush that he stopped dead in his tracks when it struck him. He suddenly remembered seeing an eagle owl at Hogwarts once or twice before. In fact, he was sure that he'd seen it in the morning, occasionally carrying a large bag of goodies and candy... 

Draco Malfoy's owl.

Ed couldn't stop himself from grinning proudly. As indirect as it was, it looked like Draco had already found a way to communicate his feelings to Hermione.

* * *

The actual celebration of Valentine's Day was exactly as Ed had predicted. It began with a rain of red, heart-shaped cards that arrived with the delivery owls in the morning, which brought about a chorus of excited girls' screams. As well as a rather disgusting display involving numerous couples publicly showing just how much they loved and appreciated one another. 

Both Edward and Alphonse were more than a little surprised to see all of this. The last time they had celebrated Valentine's Day amongst peers was when they were still little kids, and that had just been ten and eleven year olds giving one another candy and crude, home made cards that were still covered in wet glue. They weren't quite used to seeing the girl run over and plant a huge kiss on her Valentine date's lips upon receiving her present.

Al wasn't quite sure what he expected when he gave his present to Ginny. He used alchemy to make it; a small, metal statue of a cat holding a heart that read "Happy Valentine's Day." It really was beautifully made (he'd shown it to Ed, who admitted truthfully that it couldn't have been any more perfect), but he was still nervous. And the mounds of Valentine's gifts and cards that had already piled up before Ginny during breakfast did nothing for his confidence. On top of that, he had to wait until they left the Great Hall to give it to her. He was slowly beginning to panic.

As for Ed, much to his surprise (and chagrin), he had received quite a few Valentine gifts of his own from girls that he honestly didn't recognize. He only accepted them so as not to appear suspicious, though it was hard to hide the anxiety on his face as he did so. Once the presents were down on the table and the girls had walked away, he refused to touch them again until absolutely necessary.

At one point while sweeping his cool gaze over the Great Hall and surveying everything around him, Ed managed to catch Hermione's eye all the way from the Gryffindor table. She was holding a piece of parchment in her hands and was smiling warmly in Ed's direction. Once she was sure that Ed was looking back at her, she mouthed "Thank you" and pointed at the parchment. Ed laughed silently and simply nodded his head in acknowledgment. He then glanced over at Draco to see if he'd noticed. Thankfully, it seemed like he hadn't seen a thing.

Both he and Blaise had received an alarming amount of cards, presents, and love letters. Girls had been walking up to them all morning, their faces a deep shade of crimson as they handed over whatever they had prepared. Zabini accepted them all with a charming smile that made them all swoon and melt. Strangely enough, between accepting gifts and flirting with silly love-struck girls, Zabini kept asking Ed all manner of questions about girls and other types of advice on women. Ed chose not to answer any of them since the truth was that he had no answers, but did a fantastic job of making it look like Zabini simply wasn't worthy of knowing.

In the meantime, even though Draco's pile of Valentines continued to grow in number and mass, he didn't seem to be noticing it. This didn't appear to daunt his admirers in any way; they still hurried toward him to give them their presents. A few of them had hung around for a few extra seconds, waiting for him to react somehow or to at least look at them and acknowledge their presence. But they had no such luck; he was simply staring off into space, his mind wandering elsewhere.

As a result, many of his Valentines got intercepted by Pansy, who would immediately try to shoo the girls away while clinging possessively to Draco's arm. Even though their presents remained in front of him, they never reached Draco. Pansy kept them as far out of his reach as she could, even though he had yet to even look at the card on top.

"So, Drakey," she said cheerfully, watching yet another girl scuffle away like she'd been poked in the butt, "any special plans for tonight?"

"Hm?"

Ed glanced over at Pansy and Draco as he stuffed a large slice of his pancake into his mouth. It was somewhat amusing; Pansy had been trying to strike up a conversation with Draco for the past half hour and had yet to succeed. His mind had checked out ages ago, and it didn't seem like it would be coming back any time soon.

Pansy sighed in exasperation. "What is _wrong _with you? You've been so sullen and unresponsive to me lately. You always look like you're mourning or something. I mean, you've always been a bit aloof since last year, but..."

Draco remained silent, still oblivious to the fact that Pansy was even speaking to him. Ed laughed, but the sound was muffled by the food he was busy shoveling into his mouth.

Suddenly, Pansy gasped in realization, jumping slightly in her seat. "I KNOW WHAT IT IS!"

The words worked on Draco like a charm. He twitched in his seat and looked at Pansy out of the corner of his eye. "You do?"

She wrapped her arms around him and nestled her head into his shoulder. "You have no love in your life!" she cooed. "Oh, Drakey!"

"Pans," Draco started, leaning slightly away from her with a confused look on his face. "I don't think you've got this-"

"Oh, Drakey, I should have known!" she wailed, still clinging onto his arm. She then smiled in what was supposed to be a seductive matter. "But that won't be a problem for much longer. You know that, right?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Pansy, exactly what are you-"

"Drakey, we've been close friends for _years_. Don't you think it's about time?"

"Huh?" He clearly wasn't following what Pansy was trying to say. "Time for what?"

"We've known each other for _so long_," she went on, snuggling even closer to him. "And we've grown closer as friends. But we never officially, well... got it together, wouldn't you say?"

Both Ed and Zabini suddenly choked on their food. Ed quickly reached for his goblet of pumpkin juice to clear the passageway. Pansy shot them a brief, confused look, obviously not seeing what was so funny before turning back to Draco, who was now scowling at the other boys. As Pansy turned back to look at him, a smile back in place on her lips, he frowned. Realization was slowly creeping up on him, and he didn't like it one bit.

"If this has anything to do with our-"

"Draco, come on!" Pansy pouted loudly, pulling away from him and looking offended. "Don't you think it's time that we move on to the next level?"

Blaise smirked slightly at the comment, lazily reaching for his goblet to take a sip. Ed just rolled his eyes and smeared more jam on his toast. Several other people around them were looking at Pansy in shock, unsure of what exactly was going on.

"Pans, please," said Draco, fighting not to look as annoyed as he felt as he tried to keep her quiet. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable as he noticed the eyes that had turned toward them. "Can we not talk about that here?"

"WE _NEVER _TALK ABOUT IT!" Pansy all but shrieked. "AND DO YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU NEVER WANT TO DISCUSS IT!"

"Well, this really isn't a good time-"

"WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ENGAGED AFTER GRADUATION BUT YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN! YOU WON'T EVEN BOTHER TO TRY!"

More people began to stare at Pansy as her voice rose in volume and pitch. Both Zabini and Ed were at full attention now, a shocked look on Zabini's face and a disgusted one on Ed's. He had no idea that they were _engaged_. The mere thought of being engaged to Pansy Parkinson of all people made him want to puke all the wonderful food he had just scarfed down for breakfast. He noticed that Zabini was now grinning broadly, clearly enjoying himself as he watched the exchange.

"Pansy," Draco hissed, practically glaring at her, "I have no idea where this is really coming from, but you need to _calm down_."

She sprang to her feet, her face livid. "CALM DOWN?" she shrieked indignantly. "YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN? DRACO, WE HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A LONG TIME! WE'VE BEEN INTIMATE FRIENDS! WE'VE GROWN SO CLOSE! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT? WE'RE GOING TO BE MARRIED IN A COUPLE OF YEARS AND WE NEED TO START TAKING ACTION!"

The sheer volume of Pansy's voice was making practically every head in the Great Hall turn to look at her. At least half of the students from every house were now watching, their eyes wide in shock and confusion. Ed felt like his ears were ringing from the horrible screech and, grimacing, reached for his goblet again in an attempt to distract himself, to ignore Pansy's ranting. Blaise, on the other hand, was nodding his head at Pansy's words, apparently agreeing with her.

"I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER FOR YOU TO TALK ABOUT THIS, TO DISCUSS THIS! THERE'S NO NEED! EVERYONE THINKS WE BELONG TOGETHER ANYWAY, DON'T YOU SEE THAT?"

Ed almost spat out his pumpkin juice into Crabbe/Goyle's face.

"WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? WHY CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S MEANT TO BE?" Through her rage, Pansy suddenly looked like she was about to cry. "WHY CAN'T YOU SHOW THAT YOU LOVE ME?"

Draco suddenly got to his feet, his face distorted angrily. He slammed his hands down on the table, making all of the untouched Valentines jump into the air. Pansy was humiliating him in front of the entire school; he was so enraged that he no longer knew what he was saying.

"BECAUSE, YOU STUPID BINT," he yelled right into Pansy's face, "I'M IN LOVE WITH SOMEBODY ELSE!"

The Great Hall suddenly fell silent. Everyone was looking at them now, students and faculty alike. There wasn't a single person among them who didn't look shocked except, perhaps, for Pansy. She was taken aback by Draco's words, blinking her eyes in alarm. She desperately searched Draco's face for some sign that he was lying but found none. Suddenly, her pug nose wrinkled and her whole face crumpled, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

Then, realizing for the first time what he had just said, Draco's face turned deathly pale. He turned and walked out of the Hall, not sparing a glance in any other direction. Once Draco was gone, the Great Hall came alive again. All of his Valentine gifts remained untouched on the table, leaving the chocolates and candies exposed for Crabbe and Goyle to eat at their leisure. Pansy dropped to her knees on the stone floor, clasped her hands over her face, and let out the most plaintive, earth-shattering wail ever heard, tears streaming down her face. Her girl friends ran to her side at once, rubbing her back soothingly. They each looked at one another nervously, obviously clueless as to what they could do for her.

Ed looked around the Great Hall, analyzing everyone's faces. Most students had immediately gone into gossip mode and chattered excitedly amongst themselves. A typical reaction for a bunch of high school teenagers. However, he did notice one person who wasn't tittering away to the people close by: Hermione Granger, whose expression had become mostly blank and somewhat confused, as though something hadn't quite gone according to her calculations.

"Damn, Elric," muttered Zabini, shaking his head and turning back to his unfinished breakfast. "I reckon maybe Malfoy needs your girl advice more than I do."

Ed frowned and turned away, grumbling under his breath about Zabini the stupid sex-fiend. But on the one hand, he was right. Draco did need some help.

* * *

No one seemed to be able to concentrate during classes that day. Everyone's attention was divided between their date plans for that night, squealing over the secret admirers that they apparently had, the fact that it was a Friday, and the emotional scene that had taken place that morning between Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson that was being dubbed "the great break-up." Several teachers were almost brought to the brink of surrender at the inattentiveness of their pupils, but others (like McGonagall and Snape) persisted. 

To be honest, Ed hadn't minded either way. He'd dumped all his Valentines unceremoniously in his trunk before going to class, hoping that he didn't owe these girls anything in return. He thought of asking Blaise about it, but his nonchalance over the matter wasn't very helpful at all. So while everyone around him continued to partake in the excitement of the occasion, Ed went through the day once again half-buried in his book and his notes on the Doors of Truth.

Rumors spread like wildfire, the stories becoming more and more exaggerated and distorted as they went along. Everyone in school wanted to know who Draco's mystery girl was. By the end of the day, the guesses made were ranging from Cho Chang to Eloise Midgen, two girls who couldn't stand any farther apart on the scale of appearance. Practically every girl in sight was tittering about it without considering the fact that either Draco or Pansy might hear them. But Draco wasn't too worried. After all, there were only so many people who would ever guess correctly.

Hermione was completely exhausted when she made it back into her dorm that night after dinner. She felt like she'd been slightly overworked, what with several of her teachers that day trying to punish the students for their aloofness. She crossed over to her bed and flung herself upon it. Hermione raised her eyes expectantly toward the window, but saw nothing there. Heaving a great sigh, she sat back up and pulled out her books and rolls of parchment, ready to finish off the Transfiguration essay that was due in two weeks time.

She must have dozed off for a moment or two, because suddenly she opened her eyes to a darkened room lit only by moonlight from out the window. Looking around, she found her roommates asleep in their beds, contented smiles on their faces and cradling what appeared to be their Valentine presents in their arms. Hermione brushed some of her hair out of her face, wondering what time it was and how long she'd been asleep. She then swung her legs over the bed and started to put her things away, mentally scolding herself for falling asleep while doing her homework (for such a thing to have happened to _her_ of all people was simply unthinkable!) and vowing to finish it in the morning.

It was when she was returning to the comfort of her bed, this time properly changed into her nightclothes, that she heard the tapping sound at the window. Hermione glanced at the window and gasped, pleasantly surprised to find a large, gorgeous eagle owl perched outside. Even though she knew well enough to expect its yearly visit, it never failed to send excited chills up and down her spine. Looking over at her roommates to make sure that the sound hadn't roused them from their sleep, she padded over to the window to allow the owl in.

But the owl didn't enter the room this time. It gave her an acknowledging look with its intelligent eyes, laid its delivery on the window sill, and fluttered away. Hermione was stunned; this had never happened before. Only as she took it into her hands, did she realize that her Valentine's gift this year was different.

Instead of the beautifully arranged bouquet of red roses in full bloom that she had come to expect over the past years, there was a single white rose. It looked slightly wilted and its petals were covered in droplets of dew, which was strange since - as Hermione noted upon peering out the window - it wasn't raining at the moment. Even so, the single rose was somehow more beautiful than the arranged bouquets. Attached to the rose's stem with a worn, golden ribbon was a small card. Etched on its surface in silver lettering was a short message. It was a different note than before, but it served to drive Hermione even more mad than usual:

_You will never know._

For a long moment, Hermione was silent. Her eyes were fixated on the card's message, unwavering and almost analytical as she stared at the silver words that glimmered back at her in the moonlight. A single rose petal wilted suddenly, and then separated from the rest of the blossom. It slowly floated downwards, swinging from side to side like a pendulum.

Hermione followed it with her eyes as it fell. She'd never realized that the color white - which she'd usually associated with purity and goodness - could also symbolize desolation, despair... and emptiness. She'd never realized it until that moment, as she watched the single pristine petal drift to the cold stone floor.

Her fingers trembled slightly, her hold on the white rose loosening until it finally slipped through her fingers and followed the first petal to the ground. As soon as it touched the floor, the entire rose fell apart, its petals scattering haphazardly over the stone. Hermione just stared at the scattered rose petals for another moment and as she did so, silent and unmoving, she could feel her eyes sting with tears that she had tried so hard to fight back and to hold within herself.

It was a matter of seconds before they slipped down her cheeks and joined the broken rose on the floor, and pretty soon, she had also fallen to her knees, burying her face in her hands, and cried deep into the night.

How could four simple words cause her so much pain?

* * *

** Author's Note**: i know, it's quite lovey-dovey, but Ed _has _gotten himself dragged into this rather bizarre love triangle... and as for Pansy... i guess i kinda feel sorry for her, but... at the same time not really. XD that could just make me a bad person, but i like to think it's more because she's getting in the way of my plans. 

and just as a little side note... this chapter has just about shattered the previous standing record of "Longest Chapter for CSAG." it was nice having chapter 24 get to hold that record for a little while, but this one broke it by a good... oh, 2000 words, i believe.

so anyways, once again, many endless thanks to the contributions of MJade-1, without whom, this chapter (and much of this story, actually) would be just about... non-existent. so many thanks go to her and her brilliant ideas! send her some hugs and love if you can, readers. :D feel better soon, buddy!


	26. Love and Taint

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **lol, everyone has such different reactions... i love you guys! you guys rock my world! and melgar! i thought i told you to stop tin canning people. Blaise Zabini isn't so bad, he's just a tad... sex-obsessed. like most boys, really. XP so don't tin can him, he doesn't deserve that.

oh wow, this chapter is another long one... man, what's going on around here?!? XD well, i guess that means it's worth reading, eh? enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 26**  
**Love and Taint**

Edward peeled his eyes open to a world awash in colors of silver and green. His mind was momentarily disoriented and he immediately had to remind himself (for the umpteenth time) that he was in the Slytherin dorms at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He sat up groggily, stretched out his limbs, and smothered a large, exhausted yawn. Judging from the fact that it was still dark in the room, it was probably very early in the morning. Ed scowled. He hated days that started like this; waking up way too early and being unable to go back to sleep. What was worse was the fact that there were far too many of them these days.

Quickly tying his long hair into his usual braid, Ed dragged himself out of bed and stepped carefully across the room to get some clothes out of his trunk. He glanced around, checking up on his roommates. As usual, they were sound asleep, which gave Ed the opening to get to the bathroom ahead of everyone else to take a shower. Ed counted the occupied beds: Goyle, Crabbe, and Zabini, all still snoring away in their plush four poster beds. Everyone accounted...

He blinked, doing a double take. _'Wait a second. Malfoy's not here. Actually...' _Ed frowned as the next thought came to him. _'I can't remember him turning in at all last night...'_

Frowning, Ed pulled on his clothes and hurried quickly but quietly out of the dorm. Doing the usual "frantically search Hogwarts grounds for the missing Malfoy" at this ungodly hour (which, he discovered upon retrieving his pocket watch, was precisely 4:17 AM) was the last thing he'd ever hoped to find himself doing. Mustang's fault, obviously. In the end, this entire situation was Mustang's fault.

Ed was already planning out the routes he would take to efficiently scout the school grounds as he entered the common room. He'd barely taken two steps toward the exit before all of his mental processes ground to a halt.

Draco Malfoy was in the Slytherin common room. End search.

Heaving a deep, thoroughly annoyed sigh, Ed walked toward the fireplace, in front of which Draco could be found sitting with a thick, hard-bound book in his hands. Ed's annoyance slowly washed away, replaced by curiosity and some level of fascination. "Slytherin Bookworm" was _his _title. Not that he was proud of it or felt the need to defend it, but... Since when was Draco so completely focused on a book?

He took a few more careful steps toward Draco and leaned forward to peer at the title embossed on the book's cover.

"_'Principles of Deadly Poisons and How to Brew Them'_?" he read aloud. He raised an eyebrow. "You planning on doing me in, Malfoy?"

The sound of Ed's voice seemed to pull Draco's nose out of the book. He seemed rather shocked at first, but he quickly changed his expression so that he was shooting Ed a particularly murderous glare.

"If you refuse to keep your nose out of my business, then I just might. And now that you mention it, you'd be the perfect target."

Ed smirked slightly. "Well, if you're gonna look up which poison to use, you shouldn't be reading the book right in front of your victim."

Draco quirked an eyebrow amusedly. "Or maybe it's all part of some greater plan, Elric, and I'm trying to throw you off the trail."

"Ooh, a murder mystery!" Ed trilled in mock excitement, taking a seat on the couch. "Let me guess; Draco Malfoy, with the poison, in the common room."

Draco narrowed his silver eyes at Ed before returning to his book. Ed sank back into the couch cushions, wanting to go back to sleep. He let his eyes wander around the room for a little while, but his gaze eventually settled back on the book in Draco's hands.

"What's that for, anyway?"

There was a brief pause. "I'm going to poison you, remember?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Seriously. What's it for, Malfoy?"

At length, Draco lowered the book and sighed. "It's... an extra credit work for Slughorn. I'm sure you've noticed my marks slipping, I've got to bring them back up. He wants me to write him an essay on poisons and antidotes."

Ed raised an eyebrow at him, but remained silent. He hadn't heard anything about extra credit work, but it seemed likely that one of Draco's more recent disappearing acts had included a trip to Slughorn's office to discuss his grades. Then suddenly, something else grabbed Ed's attention. His eyebrows knitted together as he studied Draco's face.

He had somehow gotten even paler and more sickly looking than before. It was clear that he hadn't been getting enough to eat and was losing a lot of weight. There was a distressed air about him that implied that he was stressed and overworked. Considering that it looked like Draco had been up all night just for that extra-credit in Potions, for a moment Ed wondered if his condition really did have something to do with schoolwork. But it still seemed impossible; nobody would go to such lengths just to maintain a decent grade in school. And there was still the unsolved matter of what Draco was doing every time he slipped under Ed's radar...

"You don't look too good," Ed told him casually. "Maybe you should get some rest."

"And maybe _you _should keep working on that disappearing talent like I told you to," Draco snapped.

Ed clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing slightly in annoyance. At length, he let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know, Malfoy... I could help if you want."

Draco glanced up from his book, looking mildly confused as he turned his gaze on Ed. "Come again?"

He could kick himself for what he was doing. Once again, he blamed it all on Mustang. "You heard me. I can help you. I mean, you look way too overworked to do this on your own."

"Spare me, Elric," Draco scoffed, snapping his book shut and getting up to go to the dormitory. "I don't need any help. I can catch up with schoolwork just fine, thank you very much."

Ed leaned his head back into the couch cushion and shut his eyes tiredly. "That wasn't what I was talking about..."

Draco stopped walking abruptly and spun back around to face Ed. "Oh? Then enlighten me. What exactly _were _you talking about?"

"Look," Ed sighed, slightly frustrated. He knew Draco enough by now to expect such an answer, but it still irritated him. "I just thought I'd offer-"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Draco hissed angrily. It was obvious that he was keeping himself from yelling so as not to wake anyone else up. "I don't need anyone's help! Least of all from _you_! What the bloody hell makes you think I can trust you?"

Ed sprang up from the couch and spun around to face Draco. Before he knew it, he found the words flying bluntly from his open mouth, "Hermione, _that's _what!"

Draco raised an eyebrow curiously. Realizing what he had just blurted out, Ed frowned and settled back into his seat.

"I- Well, I mean... I know how you feel about her, and..." His mind wandered back to the letter that was safely stashed at the bottom of his trunk. "And I know it's not just some silly crush or whatever. And, well, I know you never actually made me promise, but I haven't said a word about it to anyone."

Which was the truth. Technically. He hadn't given Al any details on the matter.

The Malfoy heir snorted and looked away. "What of it, Elric?" he muttered softly. "I told you, she no longer matters to me. And I'm going to try every single day to forget that Hermione Granger ever existed."

A sad frown crept onto Ed's lips. "Good luck with that. You can try, but I really don't think you'll get far."

Draco shot Ed a hateful glare. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you've changed."

He cocked an eyebrow, and then turned back around with his arms folded indignantly over his chest. "Elric, you have no idea what you're talking about. You've known me for what? One bloody semester! Who the hell do you think you are to tell me such total bollocks?"

Ed sighed and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I'm not the one who said it."

There was a long moment of silence. Ed glanced over at Draco and, upon noticing the confused look on his face, continued.

"Hermione did."

Another moment of silence. Draco's eyes had gone slightly wider as he stared at the back of Ed's head. "She-"

"She said something about how there was something different about you this year." He strained to remember exactly what Hermione had told him at Slughorn's party. "Something... easily overlooked, but that she still managed to see in you."

Draco was stunned speechless. His mouth hung slightly agape, for once unable to think of a single intelligible thing to say.

"She's pretty amazing, y'know?" Ed went on, smiling ever so slightly. "Always able to find the silver lining that no one else can see..."

For a moment, Draco had to wonder if they were talking about the same Hermione Granger. The one he had known for the past six years. The one who had hated him since day one. The idea of her ever finding any redeeming quality in him seemed ludicrous. Draco was growing increasingly skeptical, refusing to believe it. He tried convincing himself that Ed was just a good liar... yet, it didn't sound like something Ed would say about him. It could only belong to someone who could see the beauty in others, even those who could not see it in themselves, someone like...

"Sh-She... She said that?"

Ed stole another glance at Draco and smirked inwardly at the amazement and confusion that could be found on his face. He leaned back into the couch again, folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes so that he could fully enjoy the warmth of the fire.

"But hell," he said with a shrug, "what do I know, right? You said so yourself; I've barely known you for a year."

They were both silent for another short while, Ed on the couch basking in the warm firelight and Draco halfway to the dorm. At length, Draco snorted softly and turned back around.

"Listen closely, Elric," he muttered, heading toward the dorms. "This will be the only time you'll hear this: I won't poison you."

Ed chuckled softly. "Good to know."

"Just consider it gratitude for not telling anyone about Granger."

With that, Draco took his leave and headed back to their room. Ed remained in the common room, his eyes still shut as he let the fire keep himself warm. He allowed his mind to drift freely from thought to thought in the hopes that it would lull him back to the comfort of sleep. But all it did was keep him awake, making him obsess over trivial things, like...

His eyes suddenly snapped open.

_Gratitude_?

"Did Draco Malfoy just _thank _me?"

* * *

Alphonse leaned back against the railing of the bridge and sighed. The scenery around Hogwarts really was beautiful. He liked being able to step outside of the castle, no matter how strange other people found it, but Hermione and Ginny were always nice to him and never minded when he tagged along with them if they went around the grounds. That day was one of those lucky ones, the day after Valentine's Day. Hermione had asked Ginny and a blonde girl named Luna Lovegood to wander the grounds with her after the morning's Apparition lessons. She had told them that she wanted to get some fresh air and neither one of her friends questioned her. 

They had been walking around for a while before finally stopping for a break at the bridge. The girls were leaning on the railing and looking out over the grounds, talking amongst themselves. Al kept a fair distance away, sure to at least remain within earshot. He had a rather hard time preventing himself from staring intently at Ginny and the way the breeze billowed through her fiery hair... He had yet to give her his Valentine gift and spent a good portion of this walk worrying about when and how he could make it reach her.

So while Al kept to himself on one side of the bridge, the girls gossiped on the other.

"It was crazy, Luna!" Ginny raved to her friend. "You can't have been _that _engrossed in the Quibbler article of drastic side effects of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction to not notice it!"

Luna raised her pale blue eyes to look back at Ginny serenely. "I'm surprised at you Ginny. Medical magic is much more important than a lover's spat between Malfoy and his girlfriend."

"BUT SHE _WASN'T _HIS GIRLFRIEND!" Ginny shouted animatedly. "THEY WERE NEVER TOGETHER! THERE WAS PROOF RIGHT THERE! And here we all thought they were famous for shagging each other rotten in the dungeons on top of Snape's desk! I can't believe you missed it Luna! Everybody was stunned speechless just by staring at them! Even Hermione saw the whole thing, didn't you, Mione?"

Both girls turned to Hermione, Ginny expecting support and Luna simply out of curiosity. But Hermione didn't seem to have heard a thing. She was just leaning on the railing, staring out onto the grounds of Hogwarts with a thoughtful, almost sad expression on her face. Ginny and Luna exchanged concerned glances.

"Hermione?" said Ginny softly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Did something happen yesterday night? You've been like this since this morning." A thought suddenly crossed her mind and her face twisted in annoyance. "Did Ron do something to you? Bloody hell, I'm going to kill that ignoramus!"

"Ginny," Luna sighed, "now that isn't very fair. How can you be so sure Ronald did anything wrong? He may be incredibly stubborn, slightly temperamental, scatter-brained, and sometimes very disorganized..."

As Al listened to Luna list off Ron's shortcomings, he didn't think that she was helping him any. If ever, she was only making it seem like there was all the more reason to accuse him.

"...but Hermione has said nothing to imply that Ronald had done something to her."

Hermione sighed, finally coming out of her reverie, and turned her sullen gaze to her two friends. "It isn't Ron..."

She started to walk away, taking slow, small steps as she did so. Luna nodded slightly to Ginny with a proud grin on her face as they both moved forward, falling in step with Hermione.

"You see?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and quickly turned back to Hermione. "What is it then?"

"What is what?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly exasperated. She sighed upon seeing the suspicious look on Ginny's face. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing happened, especially not last night. Really, there is nothing bothering me." She sighed again, moving toward the railing on the other side of the bridge and leaning on it. She gingerly massaged her temple. "It's just all these N.E.W.T. classes I'm taking. I just feel a bit overworked."

Al continued to watch the girls from his spot several yards away. He knew very well how to read through obvious lies (he was, after all, Edward Elric's younger brother) and he could tell that Hermione was holding something back. He didn't know what could possibly have happened the night before, but whatever it was, it bothered her immensely.

"I've been trying to tell you that for years," Ginny said, putting her hands on her hips. "Come on, spill it!"

"Ginny, let her be," Luna chided her. "She'll tell us when she wants to. Right, Hermione?"

Ginny released an exasperated sigh, raising her eyes to the sky and shaking her head. "Hermione, could you at least tell Luna about that scene that Malfoy and Parkinslut caused? Because someone has _not _been listening! Everyone's talking about it! Can you believe that he said that out loud? He's in love with someone else! The question is who..." She trailed off, taking on a thoughtful look.

Far off in the distance the clock tower could be heard striking noon. Ginny made a face, looking up at the clock tower as though she disapproved of its toll. Then, stealing a glance at Hermione, she walked forward and joined her in leaning on the railing. She looked around the school grounds and at the melting patches of snow before turning slightly to look at Hermione.

Luna tilted her head to one side as she looked at her friends. "Ginny?"

Eventually, Hermione realized that Ginny was practically staring at her and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Have I got something on my face, or is there some other reason as to why you are staring so intently at me?"

A light bulb seemed to switch on in Ginny's head. "That's it!"

Luna tilted her head to the other side. "What's it?

"That's what I'd like to know, too," said Hermione, starting to feel irritated by Ginny's behavior.

Meanwhile, Ginny suddenly looked like she was bursting to speak. "Staring so intently at you!" she said pointedly, as though each word was of extreme significance. "Remember, Hermione?"

"Remember what?"

"Oh, Luna," Ginny cried, running her hands through her hair, "I forgot to mention it to you!"

Luna turned her dreamy gaze on Ginny. "Hm? Mention what?"

"Indeed!" agreed Hermione, getting increasingly annoyed. "Mention _what_?"

"Malfoy's not in love with just anybody!" Ginny cried triumphantly, sparkles in her eyes. "HE'S IN LOVE WITH HERMIONE GRANGER!"

Al twitched slightly. Both of Ginny's friends looked surprised to hear this, though in Hermione's case there was also blunt rage.

"What?!?" Hermione cried indignantly. "Now I _know _you've gone mental, Ginny!"

"But don't you remember?" Ginny insisted, clutching Hermione's arm excitedly. "Remember how he was staring at you during our snowball fight before? He never once took his eyes off you! No other boy would look at you that intently for so long!"

Hermione frowned. "Gee, thanks."

Ginny grinned. "No offense, Hermione! But don't you _see_? THIS IS THE GOSSIP OF THE CENTURY!" She then turned to Luna. "It's like that Romeo and Juliet story we read for Muggle studies, Luna! 'For never was a story of more woe, than that of Hermione and her Draco.'"

"EX_CUSE_ ME, GINEVRA WEASLEY!" Hermione all but shrieked, outraged. "_Draco _and I are not a pair of star-cross'd lovers! After all, Romeo and Juliet were two foolish teenagers, one of whom went around slaughtering people and the other using semi-fatal poisons for her own selfish desires. I mean, no offense to Shakespeare, but where was the point in that? Their stupidity and petty desires cost them their lives. And besides, Malfoy and I _despise _each other."

"That's the beauty of it!" Ginny continued, practically jumping in excitement over this outcome. "Malfoy has fallen, and he has fallen hard! Don't you see? He hates you so much he loves you!"

"_What_? That's it Ginny, I'm taking you to the mental ward at St. Mungo's!"

Meanwhile, Luna had taken on a thoughtful look (in her quirky way). "Come to think of it," she murmured softly, "Ginny may have a point, Hermione."

Hermione rounded on Luna in shock. "_Luna_! How can you even _say _that?!?"

Luna put one finger to her chin, her eyes cast toward the heavens as she thought aloud. "It's just that during meal times at the Great Hall I've noticed Draco Malfoy casting furtive glances at you, Hermione. And not just every once in awhile. It's actually rather frequent."

This served to excite Ginny further. A broad smile across her face, Ginny shook Hermione eagerly by the arm. "YOU SEE, HERMIONE? OH, LUNA!" She released Hermione momentarily to hurry over and embrace Luna. "You're not as oblivious as I thought you were!"

"Ginny!" Hermione shouted in a scolding tone. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're supposed to _hate _Malfoy!"

"I never said I didn't hate him," Ginny told her friend coolly. Then her grin grew. "But you must be _blind_, Hermione! Sure he's an evil bastard, but he's a _gorgeous _one!"

Al suddenly felt rather downhearted. He twiddled his thumbs nervously as he tried to imagine what he would look like by now if he were still human...

Hermione turned away, looking scandalized as she ran her hands through her hair. "_Merlin_, I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

"Oh, Hermione!" Ginny gasped as another light bulb lit up in her head. "Do you think he could be your secret admirer?"

"What secret admirer?"

"You know! The one who sends you a bouquet of red roses every Valentine's Day!"

A horrified expression spread across Hermione's face. She quickly rounded on Ginny, her eyes as wide as saucers. "How do you know about that?"

Ginny smiled smugly. "You share a room with Parvati and Lavender, don't you?"

The horror on Hermione's face didn't disappear. The reddening of her cheeks just made things worse for her. "Oh, _BRILLIANT_! So what _now_?!? Suddenly my love life has become the highlight of Hogwarts society?!? DOES _EVERYBODY _KNOW?"

Ginny laughed good-naturedly at the humiliation on her friend's face and rubbed her back soothingly. "Oh Hermione, calm down. I think that's very sweet of Malfoy. Who knew he had a soft side under that cool and collected exterior? He was probably attracted to you all along."

"KILL ME NOW!" Hermione wailed, burying her reddened face in her hands. "I CAN ONLY ATTRACT GUYS WHO HAVE HATED ME FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS AND CALLED ME AWFUL NAMES, AND PRACTICALLY-"

"Worships the ground you walk on?" Ginny offered, grinning.

Hermione looked back up at Ginny, her face twisted angrily, and then turned away, running her hands through her hair again. "ARGH! That's it! I'll be going now! I have no interest in indulging your insane fantasies, Ginny! If anyone asks then I'm in the library, chucking hardbound books at the first years with MALFOY!"

She then shot both girls angry glares before spinning around on her heel and stalking off toward the school. So Alphonse and the two fifth-years were left on the bridge, Al still maintaining a safe distance from them (a distance that had grown significantly since Hermione started yelling). Eventually, Luna turned to look at Ginny, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Why is she so upset, Ginny?"

Ginny sighed and shrugged. "Some conceited, horrible, but amazingly hot, devilishly gorgeous looking guy likes her. Only Hermione Granger would consider that a problem."

* * *

Ed took a large, almost vicious bite out of his sandwich wrap. He had been feeling the need to vent to someone ever since they were released from the Apparition lessons that morning, and Draco and the other Slytherins were definitely not his first choice. He tried to pull Al aside, but Hermione and some of her friends beat him to it. So he spent the remainder of the morning studying, finishing off his homework, and then once again losing himself amidst his research. 

Not that the other Slytherins didn't try to distract him. They certainly did, and it did absolutely nothing for Ed's mood. In fact, he had started the morning out simply feeling annoyed, but by the time lunch rolled around, he was furious. Between Zabini still prodding him about girl advice and Pansy pouting about Draco's outburst (if Ed didn't know any better, he would have said that Pansy was trying to use him as her rebound boy), he felt like he was really going to lose his temper.

So for lunch, Ed grabbed as much food as he could carry and abandoned the Slytherins in favor of eating in the hallway with Al. He had a lot more to rant about now than before.

As always, Ed found a sympathetic ear in his younger brother. It often amazed him how mature and wise Al could be, and he could always trust him to (literally) knock some sense into his skull. But this time, even though he really did listen to Ed and tried to ease his rage, Al's attention seemed to be drifting in and out. He kept throwing glances toward the entrance to the Great Hall on occasion as though he were expecting something or someone. And once Ed actually gave it some thought, he probably was.

He swallowed his mouthful of food.

"Hermione or Ginny?" Ed asked nonchalantly.

Al's head snapped right back around to look at his older brother. "H-Huh?"

"Which one are you waiting for? The charge or the crush?"

"Nii-san, what're you-"

"Did you give it to her yet?" When Ed received no answer, he gave Al a wry grin. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

Al dropped his gaze into his lap, embarrassed at having been put on the spot so suddenly. Ed let out an exasperated breath. He may not have whole-heartedly approved of the idea of Al trying to get into a relationship with a girl (at least not until he got to restore their bodies to normal), but it was really up to Al in the end.

"It's just that... I'm nervous, that's all."

Ed nodded sagely, stuffing the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth. "I guess that's natural..."

"I mean, it's not like that time we competed over Winry."

Some part of his food became wedged in his throat.

"We've always been close to her and known her forever, plus we were so little at the time, so it wasn't really awkward."

Ed thumped his chest and coughed repeatedly to clear the passageway. _'I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that.'_

"But this is different, isn't it? I mean, I can't even remember the last time I..."

Al let his voice trail off and he seemed to shrink further into himself. Ed just took a long sip of his drink. He had already gotten way too involved with everything that was going on in Hogwarts. First it was him becoming part of some weird love triangle with Draco and Hermione, and now here was Al with his crush on Ginny!

_'Geez, what the hell am I doing trying to play matchmaker with all these guys? I'm just here to make sure Draco doesn't do anything stupid and Voldemort related!'_

He suddenly felt much more irritated than before. Maybe he should work on trying to break everyone up, instead. As soon as the thought came to him, Ed changed his mind. He didn't like that idea very much at all. It would make too many enemies for him, and he didn't need that.

"Things have changed since the last time you had a crush on someone, right? I mean, being a suit of armor, your hormones don't exactly rule over your mind-"

"I-Is that supposed to be a good thing...?"

"-so any feelings you have toward someone would have to be driven by something deeper than physical attraction. But..." Ed ran a hand through his hair and sighed, frustrated. "Al, you can't get too attached to this place."

Al raised his head. "Nii-san...?"

"I'm serious, Al. We've obviously gotten carried away, lost track of our duties because of all the exposure to people our own age. It's been a long time since we've had this much interaction with other teenagers and we're... We forgot, Al."

"Forgot...?" Al echoed, sounding worried. "Forgot... what?"

Ed looked straight into his younger brother's eyes. "We're not-"

"Luna!" cried out a plaintive voice. "Hermione wouldn't even look at me during lunch! I tried talking to her, but she flat out ignored me!"

The sound of Ginny's voice had an amazing effect on Al. He immediately seemed to forget that Ed was having (or at least _trying _to have) a serious talk with him and turned to look in the direction that it had come from. Students were starting to pour out of the Great Hall, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood among them. However, while everyone seemed excited - either because it was a Saturday or because of the Apparition lessons that morning - there was an annoyed frown on Ginny's face as she looked almost pleadingly to her friend. But whatever was bothering her obviously hadn't fazed Luna.

"What do you expect?" said Luna with a dismissive shrug. "You were the one who made her angry. Though I still don't understand why..."

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, I was only teasing. As if Malfoy would fall for her, or vice versa."

Ed's eyes grew wide as their conversation reached his ears. He turned to Al. "What the hell are they talking about?"

Al didn't seem to notice the hint of irritation in Ed's voice and just sighed tiredly. "So Miss Hermione is still upset about that..."

Ed gave Al a piercing look. "Upset about _what_?"

Alphonse gave a small start upon hearing the growl in Ed's voice. His anxiety only grew when he turned back to look at him and was greeted with an angry frown.

"Um..."

A cold, almost malicious aura began to radiate off of Ed's body. "What did you tell them?"

"N-Nothing!" Al protested, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I just..."

He let his voice trail off as he became increasingly worried. He fidgeted slightly, now fully aware of the fact that he had indeed made a grave error and Ed would know if he lied about it. The narrowing of his golden eyes practically forced Al to speak.

"I... I mentioned before that you said Mr. Draco got jealous because you went with Miss Hermione to Mr. Slug-"

"AL!" Ed barely restrained himself from smacking his helmet off. "What part of 'don't tell a single soul in Hogwarts about Draco and Hermione' did you not understand?!?"

"You never said that, nii-san!"

"Well, it was _implied, _wasn't it?!? It was supposed to be a secret!" Ed groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Shit. If this catches on with the rest of the school, Malfoy's gonna blame me and I'll be as good as dead."

"He wouldn't do that!" Al insisted. "You're exaggerating!"

Ed rolled his eyes at Al's naïveté. He was apparently clinging to the idea that Draco was blameless and couldn't possibly do anything so horrible. Though to be perfectly honest, he had no clue where Al could have gotten that into his head. Ed drew in a deep, calming breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of some way to make sure that none of this got leaked out to the rest of the school. Then, with a heavy sigh, he reached for the last piece of food left to him and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Here's what we'll do," he announced. "You go talk to Ginny and make sure that she was really only kidding."

"Nii-san, don't talk with your mouth full."

Ed glared at Al upon hearing his comment, but still swallowed his food before continuing. "Make doubly sure that _nobody else _hears about what she and Hermione argued about, and see if you can't get them to make up or something." He then rose swiftly to his feet, dusting himself off. "Go take care of that _right now_, Al, or else we'll both be in trouble."

Al nodded and also rose to his full height. He glanced toward where Ginny and Luna were still talking about how angry Hermione was. They were walking rather slowly down the hallway in the general direction of the dorms. It wouldn't be too hard for Al to catch up to Ginny and talk to her. He then turned to his brother, who was surveying the thinning crowd of students that was exiting the Great Hall.

"What are _you _going to do, nii-san?"

The elder Elric grimaced slightly as he finally found his Slytherin charge. "Damage control. Again. This guy seriously ticks me off." He started to move toward Draco, but hesitated and turned briefly back to Al. "And while you're taking care of all that, give Ginny your present already."

An invisible blush came over Al's face. "Wh-What?!?"

Ed smirked. "Good luck, little brother!"

He then spun back around and hurried over to rejoin Draco and the other Slytherins. Al sighed as he watched him, partly exasperated by his behavior and partly nervous about being told to give his present to Ginny. He then shifted his attention back to Ginny and Luna, moving toward them as discreetly as he could, which was no easy task for him and his hulking body of armor.

"Well, I wasn't lying when I said Draco Malfoy stole glances at her," he heard Luna say in her usual casual, nonchalant tone of voice.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Probably coming up with ways to infuriate Hermione. Honestly, he could give Ron a run for his money. Most of Hermione's anger usually seems to lie with Malfoy."

Luna shrugged again. "If you say so, Ginny. I'm heading back to the Ravenclaw common room. I have a few more butterbeer corks to add to my necklace."

She then waved goodbye and turned around, walking off in the direction of her House. Ginny smiled slightly as her friend left, shaking her head. "Just as loony as ever." Then, noticing a familiar figure lurking about from the corner of her eye, she smiled and laughed softly. "Honestly, Al. If you're planning on making yourself known, you might as well do it now."

Al flinched slightly at being caught out, but still obeyed and stepped out of his hiding place. He walked slowly toward Ginny, twiddling his thumbs. "Sorry, Miss Ginny."

"How many times do I have to ask you just to call me 'Ginny'?" she smiled, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Miss - Oh! I mean..." Al looked down at his twiddling thumbs. "Sorry... Ginny."

Ginny's smile broadened into a grin. "There. That's better, isn't it?"

It was one of the few times that Al was grateful to be a suit of armor. If he had a human face, the blush would have been impossible to cover up. So (thankfully) without knowing a thing, Ginny just turned around and looked outside, sighing dreamily.

"It's such a beautiful day! I can never understand why everyone else would rather stay inside and study." She then turned to look at Al, who - though Ginny didn't know it - was entranced simply by watching her. "You know, Al, unless you've got something better to do today, how'd you like to come walk with me?"

"You don't mind having me along?" Al asked, surprised.

"Not at all!"

"But..." Ed's orders suddenly bubbled forth in Al's consciousness. He was supposed to try to get Ginny and Hermione to make up! "But shouldn't we call Miss Hermi-"

"Don't be silly, Al, I don't bite," Ginny laughed, walking toward Al and taking him by the arm. "It'll just be us. Come on!"

She then pulled Al along with her as she made her way outside of the castle. Part of Al wanted to protest, but the rest of him didn't mind at all.

* * *

"So..." Ginny looked pensive as she straightened out her thoughts. "This nurse you two met in Spain turned out to be a thief." 

Al nodded.

"And this governor you met in a town near Turkey claimed that he could bring people back from the dead?"

He nodded again. "That's right."

Ginny laughed. "That's insane! Wow, you and your brother seem to have traveled all over Europe. It must be fun, I wish I could go to all those places. But..." She sighed wistfully. "With seven kids, my parents can't really afford that."

Her eyes took on a dreamy glaze that was worthy of Luna as she looked out over the lake. She and Al had been walking all over the school grounds, Al telling Ginny about some of the misadventures he and Edward had embarked on over the past five years. He had to modify all of them slightly so that Ginny wouldn't ask any questions about Amestris. He wasn't sure how detailed Ed had made his undercover back story about that magic school in Germany, but it was safe to assume that anything Amestris related shouldn't be leaked.

Suddenly, something seemed to come to Ginny's attention and she turned to look at Al in confusion. "Wait a second, don't you two have school? Where do you find the time to do all that?"

"Oh right! Well, um..." Al laughed nervously as he frantically searched for a way to respond. "Well, um... You see, my brother and I were accepted to a... special... program of sorts... where we're free to do a lot of... independent study work."

Ginny blinked. "Independent study? Well, Hermione did say Ed seemed a bit aloof when she first met him. Now, you two are everything she talks about." She laughed slightly. "It seems to really annoy Ron! I guess she finds you two quite interesting." She then looked seriously at Al, smiling. "And somehow, I couldn't agree more."

Al quickly averted his gaze, suddenly too embarrassed to look Ginny full in the face. He couldn't think of a single thing to say. His shuffling feet had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world to him.

"Er... Al? I'm curious..."

He gave a sudden, surprised start. He still didn't dare turn to look up. "Y-Yes?"

"Well, I was just wondering... What are the girls like in Germany?"

"The girls...?" Al echoed, obviously confused. "What do you mean by that?"

Ginny grinned somewhat teasingly. "I don't know. I mean, are they pretty? Are they smart? Are they charming and funny? You've traveled everywhere, you must have something to say about them."

Al slowly turned to look at Ginny, still confused. He then looked up into the sky, thinking back on the girls that he knew and had met in Amestris. There was his mother, Winry and Pinako Rockbell, Riza Hawkeye, Roze, Scieszka, Maria Ross...

"Well..." He tried to pick his words out carefully. "Hmm... I'm not really sure how to describe them... but..." He looked timidly back at Ginny. "They're nothing like you."

A pink tint suddenly came over Ginny's cheeks, at which Al couldn't help but be surprised. It was the first time he'd ever seen Ginny blush. It was strange, since she always seemed to be so confident about herself. Either way, she quickly covered up her rosy cheeks with a broad smile, clearing her throat nervously.

"Well, I imagine you must miss your school."

"Oh, yeah," Al answered rather lamely, nodding. "Just a little bit."

Ginny's smile grew. "Well, I'm glad they chose _you _to come here."

Al smiled inwardly. The truth was that he was happy to be Hogwarts as well. It was the first time in a long time that he had truly felt human and had been accepted by people his own age. And yet... alarms suddenly began to wail in Al's head.

"B-But, I'm just here visiting!" he said hastily. "It's really my _brother _that got transferred, so..."

"Speaking of your brother," said Ginny, sounding rather thoughtful. "Do you know if Ed has a thing for Hermione?"

"Hmm... Actually, I've been wondering that myself..."

"Well, Ed _did _send Hermione a letter during Valentine's, after all." Ginny's teasing grin graced her face once again. "And according to you, he and Malfoy seem to be fighting over her, am I right?"

Al would have sweat dropped. "Actually, Ginny, about that..."

Ginny didn't seem to hear him and simply continued with her train of thought. "Either way, that was really sweet of him. I mean, Dean's letter was okay but... I don't recall seeing you, Al."

Al jumped slightly, instantly becoming flustered. "O-Oh... um... I was... I was kind of busy..."

"Busy? With what?"

"Umm... well..."

He turned all the way around so that Ginny couldn't see his front and began to toy with the latch of his chest plate. He'd stored the silver statuette that he transmuted inside his chest, just in case the chance to give it to Ginny arose. But he was so overcome by his own nerves that his fingers were fumbling with the simple latch, unable to release it.

"Um... I, um... uhh..."

Ginny tilted her head to one side, confused. "Yes?"

His chest plate finally became unlatched on one side and Al carefully reached in to pull out the silver cat. As he looked at it, examining it for the millionth time to see if it had somehow gotten messed up, he suddenly lost all of his confidence. Now that the moment he'd been waiting and looking for had arrived, he didn't know if he could go through with it.

"It was... I mean, about Valen... Va...len...tine's..."

Every word he tried to say was coming out in a stutter. He was getting more anxious with each passing second.

"Seriously Al," sighed Ginny, somewhat exasperated, "just come out and say it! I'm not going to devour you."

Were it possible for him to, Al would have turned completely red, from head to toe. "I, uh... I... I...!" When he heard Ginny sigh again, Al quickly decided to get it over with. He whirled back around, extending the small silver statue toward Ginny, his gaze still glued to the floor as he refused to look at her face. "FOR YOU!"

Ginny blinked in shock. "For me?"

"Y-Yes..."

He didn't dare look up. No, he didn't dare. He was absolutely terrified of what she might think, or say... or what the look on her face would be. That in itself would have spoken volumes.

They were silent as Ginny reached for the silver statue. She turned it over several times in her hands as though she were inspecting it before looking back up at Al.

"Al... What's this for?"

"It was..." Al withdrew his hands, clasping them tightly in front of him. "Well, I... I was going to give it to you on Valentine's Day, but..." He laughed nervously. "I didn't really find a chance to give it to you that day. I didn't know the next time I could find time to see you, so I thought today would be the only time I could..."

Another silence. He slowly raised his gaze so that he was looking at Ginny. She was silent, just staring at the silver cat statue in her hands. Al couldn't tell if she was happy with it or not.

"You... don't like it?"

"Oh no, it's not that! It's..." Ginny looked up at Al and smiled warmly. "It's lovely. This is really sweet of you, Al... Though you don't need an occasion to spend time with me you know. All you have to do is ask."

Before Al could think of a way to respond, the clock tower chimed from off in the distance. They both looked up at it in alarm, neither one of them realizing that it was getting late into the afternoon. Ginny gasped suddenly, clasping one hand over her mouth.

"OH!"

Al turned to face her. "What's the matter, Ginny?"

"I'm so sorry, Al, but I have to go," she moaned, running her fingers through her long hair. "I completely forgot I was supposed to meet Dean! I have to go..."

Al's shoulders slumped slightly. "Oh..."

Ginny smiled apologetically as she turned to race off toward the castle. "Bye!"

For a brief moment, Al just watched Ginny leave, secretly hoping that she would change her mind and come back. When nothing of the sort happened, he sighed sadly and turned back around, seated himself on the ground, and looked out over the lake. He knew that he should also be getting back to the castle soon, but he just couldn't at the moment. He decided to wait until Ginny had completely gone.

"Oh, Al! Hang on a second!"

He jumped slightly at the sound of Ginny's voice and turned to look at her in surprise. She was jogging back up toward him, smiling cheerily.

"Miss Ginny! Did you forget something?"

"Absolutely!"

Before Al could get back up to his feet, Ginny had already rushed him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek - or at least, what would be his cheek were his body made of flesh. She then pulled away and turned to go once again, the broad smile still on her face.

"Bye, Al! See you at dinner!"

And for a long, silent moment that seemed to be stretching into an eternity, Al was frozen in shock, staring after Ginny with one hand raised close to the spot where she had kissed him. Despite his cold, armor body, Al could feel warmth spreading through him, as though it was his very soul that was tingling. His mind had been wiped completely blank, save for one thing.

Ginny Weasley had just given Alphonse Elric his very first kiss.

* * *

By some sort of miracle - according to Ed anyway, which says quite a bit about his beliefs - Draco was relatively obedient for two solid weeks. He wasn't randomly disappearing anymore and instead spent most of his time reading the poison book he'd gotten and fiddling with what appeared to be a gold coin. The gold coin thing was weird, Ed had to admit, but if playing with it meant fewer instances of having to search Hogwarts for Draco, it was a godsend. And if Edward Elric thought that _anything _was a godsend, then it was obviously a big deal to him. 

Either way, Ed actually enjoyed the two week period and got to feel like a real Hogwarts student for once... Even though he was often plagued with the thoughts and questions that popped into his mind purely out of military influence and his extensive background in alchemy. Other than that, he honestly felt his age.

It was kind of weird.

February moved into March with no change in the weather other than an increase in windiness as well as rain. Ed was starting to get used to the consistently foul weather, though it certainly did nothing for the occasional aching of his auto-mail ports. Just before March arrived, a sign went up in the common room announcing that the next Hogsmeade trip was cancelled. Ed wasn't too surprised to hear this; the Katie girl still hadn't returned from the magic hospital she'd been sent to and the whole opal necklace incident was obviously still fresh in the minds of the Hogwarts professors. Not only that, but Ed had come across several reports in the _Daily Prophet_ about people disappearing, including the relatives of various Hogwarts students. It seemed only natural that extra safety precautions would be made.

Losing the Hogsmeade trip seemed to irritate Draco slightly, though his reasons were really anyone's guess. He wasn't the only one who was upset, however; almost the entire student body spent the morning of the announcement complaining. The sixth and seventh-year students also whined about their Apparition lessons. It was as difficult as ever, even though it had already been three weeks. Only a few more people had managed to Splinch, the sight of which continued to sicken Ed to the pit of his stomach. He'd hoped that he would get excused from the Apparition lessons after what happened during the first lesson, but he had no such luck. But Ed did enjoy taking part in the discussions all of the students had about them, in which they made fun of Wilkie Twycross and his three Ds. They had come up with some great nicknames for him, "Decrepit Disapparating Dickhead" being among Ed's favorites.

Making fun of Twycross quickly became one of their favorite things to do in their spare time. Which was why Ed and several other Slytherins were coming up with new nicknames on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast the morning after their fourth (failed) Apparition lesson. But as soon as they entered the Great Hall, they found the place in chaos. It was nowhere near as frenzied as the morning after Katie's incident at Hogsmeade, but students were still running excitedly back and forth across the Hall to spread the news.

"Did you hear?" cried some random fourth-year that Ed didn't recognize as he raced past the doorway. "Slughorn's poisoned a student!"

They all jumped slightly in surprise upon hearing the boy's loud, squeaking, just-reached-puberty voice. Everyone's eyebrows arched upward in surprise, practically hitting their hairlines. Then, exchanging confused looks and eyeing the boy warily as he ran all over the Great Hall to spread the gossip to whoever had yet to hear it, they made their way to their usual spot at the Slytherin table.

The rumors they were hearing varied slightly as they were told by different people. The fact that someone had been poisoned was clear; it was simply a matter of details. Some people were saying that Slughorn poisoned the student himself while others said someone was trying to knock off Gryffindor's Quidditch team one player at a time. It took a while for all of the actual facts to reach Ed and Draco's gang, but eventually the victim's name surfaced: Ron Weasley.

As soon as he heard this, Draco almost choked on his mouthful of pumpkin juice and Pansy had to rub his back soothingly. Zabini, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle all snickered softly, since they were always amused to hear about any misfortune that befell a Gryffindor. Ed, on the other hand, just frowned slightly, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Why would someone wanna kill _Ron_ of all people?" he muttered.

"Damned if _we _knew," Nott snickered, biting into an apple. "Him and his weasel family definitely don't strike you as prime targets, but... Hey! Maybe it was a group of pureblood extremists eliminating the blood traitors!"

Ed's frown deepened at the excitement in Nott's voice. "Don't add to the rumors, Nott."

Nott smirked as he took another bite out of his apple. "But you must admit, this whole thing is dead funny."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "There's nothing funny about someone almost dying," he all but growled. "What did Weasley ever do to _you_?"

This question seemed to irritate Nott, since it was obvious from the look on his face that his only answer was "he's a Weasley and a Gryffindor," and he knew that it wouldn't be reason enough for Edward. He was becoming widely known across the school not only as the Slytherin bookworm, but for his talent in winning these sorts of arguments. They both looked away, each finding a mutual dislike for the other.

Also, Ed was getting tired of hearing one distorted rumor after another. One moment it was an accident, the next it was a murder attempt, and then suddenly it was Ron drinking poisoned mead to save someone's life, the identity of whom kept swinging between Professor Slughorn and Harry Potter. All the uncertainty was making Ed's patience wear thin.

Strangely enough, Draco's expression had been twisting sourly as breakfast wore on. Ed couldn't understand why hearing about the incident seemed to bother him so much. If anything, Ed would've expected him to be highly amused, just like Nott and Pansy very obviously were.

He would have allowed his mind to wonder about that longer, but the sounds of everyone discussing the incident amongst themselves and trying to figure out which rumors were true was getting on his nerves. It didn't take too long for Ed to decide that he was fed up with the rumors. He was a scientist. He needed facts. _Real _facts, not these rumors that were bouncing off the walls and evolving with every student that heard the story. Which left him with only one thing to do.

Ed quickly rose from his seat and started to walk away from the Slytherin table. Zabini - along with several other members of Draco's usual gang - gave Ed a funny look.

"Where're you going, Elric?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he muttered. "The one place I can get the facts straight."

Ignoring the shocked looks on everyone's faces, Ed made his way across the Great Hall, through the ensuing chaos of the lower year students still running around spreading the ever evolving rumors, toward the Gryffindor table. If there was anyone around that really knew what had happened to Ron, it was going to be either Hermione or Harry.

It was only by the time he had reached them that he realized he could have asked Al. Since he was supposed to be in charge of keeping watch over Hermione, he was sure that Al would have had some straight facts. But he was already standing a few feet away from where Hermione and Harry were sitting, apprehensive looks on their faces. Most of the students around them were occupied with discussions about the upcoming Quidditch match, and it seemed like very few (if any) of them were too concerned with what had happened to Ron.

Not that it really mattered. If the Gryffindors wanted to dismiss Ron's poisoning as an accident, that was their prerogative. As for Ed, he didn't like hearing about students and their near death experiences, and it was even worse when the story kept changing.

"Hey."

The sound of Ed's voice seemed to have pierced through Hermione and Harry's consciousness and quickly brought them both around. They looked over at him, blinking in surprise, then exchanged confused looks before finally turning to face him properly.

"Erm... hi Ed," Harry greeted him awkwardly.

A few heads nearby had swiveled around to look at Ed. After all, it wasn't exactly common practice for a Slytherin to go to the Gryffindor table. Ed looked around at them warily before refocusing himself on his task.

"I heard about Ron. Or... sort of, anyway. No one seems to have the story straight. What happened to him?"

Hermione sniffed suddenly, and Ed's eyes flitted over to look at her. She had turned her gaze back to her plate on the table. Harry looked at her uncertainly from the corner of his eye.

"Well..." He took a deep breath. It was pretty obvious by his expression that he'd gone over the story a thousand times now. "Ron accidentally ate some Chocolate Cauldrons that had been spiked with love potion - he thought they were a birthday present to him, you see. So I took him to Professor Slughorn to get the antidote. Slughorn whipped up an antidote, then said that he would need a pick-me-up afterward and brought out some mead, but when Ron drank it something strange happened..."

So it really was the mead. At least _somebody _out there had gotten that fact straight.

"Suddenly he turned rigid, then looked as if he was having a fit, that's when he started foaming at the mouth..."

Ed made a face. That definitely didn't sound pleasant.

Hermione spun around in her seat. "Ron had been poisoned!" she said loudly. "Lucky for him, Harry thought about the bezoar and shoved it down his throat!"

Ed raised an eyebrow at the borderline hysterics in Hermione's voice, but dismissed it. Ron was a close friend of hers, after all. Why _wouldn't _she be upset? "Smart move. So then where is he now?"

"At the infirmary," said Harry. "McGonagall turned up and brought him there, and Madam Pomfrey reckons he'll be all right. She insisted he stay for a week or so, though..."

Ed's gaze was locked to a spot on the floor, his brow furrowed thoughtfully and one hand cupped around his chin. "Hmm... Foaming at the mouth, huh? You think it was meant to be fatal? Then again, who in their right mind would want to kill Ron?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Something's not right here... Slughorn _did _mention the mead was supposed to have been a gift for Dumbledore, and a few months ago Leanne told us that cursed necklace was meant for someone in the castle, remember?"

"Uh-huh," Ed murmured quietly, still mostly lost in his own thoughts.

Harry sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his messy hair. "First the necklace, now this..."

Ed nodded slowly in agreement. "Hmm..."

Then, just as Hermione and Harry turned to face one another and began to talk in hushed tones, an image suddenly sprang forward in Ed's mind. A whole new possibility was now brought to Ed's attention. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The pieces of this new puzzle fell into place so simply and easily in Ed's mind that his eyes immediately grew wide.

_'No way...'_

His mind was suddenly filled with close-up images of a book being read in the dark comfort of the common room... That was it. It _had _to be! Ed's gaze slowly traveled across the Great Hall and came to rest on a very sour looking face. He narrowed his gold eyes at him, frowning angrily.

_'Draco Malfoy, you are fucking busted.'_

* * *

**Author's Note:** well, let's see... Al finally gave his present to Ginny. people asked to see the scene, and i have delivered :D and also, i have just recently discovered that a girl kissed Al in one of those FMA novels. i don't know any details though, since i've never read the book and i only read that on a site or a forum somewhere... so i don't even know if it's true. for that reason, i'm keeping Ginny's kiss as Al's very first one ever from a girl he likes. 

Ed is also now perfectly aware of his bizarre position as matchmaker and is not too pleased with it. XP

and just because i've gone a little (okay, maybe _more _than a little) crazy, i have named that random fourth year with the "squeaking, just-reached-puberty voice", and his name is Aaron. :P and in case no one gets that reference, i'm paying tribute to Alphonse Elric's english VA as he sounds in "Conqueror of Shambala." it's not meant to be an insult, 'cause i quite like the english FMA dub, but it was just something amusing that i noticed when i watched the movie in english. XD


	27. Of Potions and Spy Games

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But now Ed knows that there's something more to it, and he's gotten too involved to pull out... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **pum pum puhhh... i love when the plot thickens... when i'm reading. XD seriously, it's not all that easy to write when it all becomes story thick, but it's all worth it in the end. it's kinda been slow going over on my end of things, so... sorry 'bout that! not to mention the fact that i'm still trudging through my other fanfics, trying desperately to get them done before another two years pass... :P

sorry that this update took a little bit longer than usual. you all know i aim for an update every week, every two weeks if i must, but Mjade and i have come across a particularly nasty brand of writer's block. hopefully we'll manage to break through it soon and have weekly updates just like before.

but anyways, yes, Ed's oh so very smart and that's why i'm such an Ed fangirl. XD and... well, while Draco is indeed a bastard in many respects, that's... not what Ed said... i think some people are a bit confused. please take a moment to read that last sentence _carefully_. there are no typos there, i assure you.

all right, enough of that now. here's the new stuff! enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 27**  
**Of Potions and Spy Games**

Edward was sure now that Draco was guilty of two attempted murders. He was sure that what had happened to both Ron and Katie were Draco's fault, even if they hadn't been his intended target. It certainly explained why he'd been so annoyed to find out that _Ron _had been on the receiving end of his poison. No, Draco was aiming much higher than students that he personally found annoying. He was acting on someone else's orders. The orders of his "master"...

Though Ed was still left wondering why that would be and how this assassination plot had anything to do with Draco's frequent disappearances. He also found himself asking how Draco was able to use such indirect means and why he would opt to do so in the first place. Questions that all begged for answers.

He wanted to take the matter directly to the headmaster, to warn him somehow, but Ed knew that no matter how strongly he believed in them, his suspicions still weren't enough. However busted Draco Malfoy now was, once again, Ed was unable to get his hands on any proof. He'd searched the dorm for the poisons book that Draco had been reading, but was unable to find it anywhere. Apparently, the Malfoy heir had thought ahead enough to get rid of the evidence. It was annoying that Draco was clever enough to get rid of it. Sometimes Ed wondered if Draco was almost as smart as him.

So for the rest of the week and despite his increasingly foul mood as he continued to fail to find the evidence he needed, Ed stuck to Draco like glue. And just in case, he instructed Al to stand guard near the infirmary to keep track of everyone who came and went. He almost told him - in a very commanding, military-like way - to report everything he discovered back to him, but resisted. Either way, Al understood exactly what was being asked of him, which made Ed's life just little a bit easier to deal with.

Al set up his post in the farthest corner of the infirmary corridor. It was far enough away from the entrance to the infirmary to go widely unnoticed, but close enough to be able to see the faces of everyone who came and went. He didn't have to worry too much about being discovered since most of the student body still believed him to be an enchanted suit of armor; there were only a few people he really had to be careful of, including Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, who just so happened to be Ron's most frequent visitors. One girl that he'd learned to recognize as Lavender Brown also stopped by relatively often, though she never stayed very long and always left looking annoyed.

The next Saturday was bustling with activity. It was the day of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and Al had been hearing Ron's loud complaints even from his post down the hall all morning. He apparently wanted desperately to watch (he hadn't been happy at all when Harry told him how he'd gotten a substitute), but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let him; she felt it would overexcite him or something. What seemed to make things worse for Ron was the fact that his only visitor that morning had been Lavender Brown. Once again, she barely stayed for two minutes before leaving in a huff, and Al heard her whining about how the sickly and injured slept too much.

An hour or two before the start of the Quidditch match, someone that Al had never seen by the infirmary before came to visit Ron. His curiosity piqued as he watched her approach from the opposite end of the corridor. What did Luna Lovegood want with Ron?

He had to maintain his distance until she passed through the doors, since he was sure that someone like Luna would be able to recognize him and would want to greet him. Once she was already inside, Al moved cautiously toward the door with his back to the wall, straining to hear what was going on. Since Luna had never come by before and was certainly an unexpected visitor, he had to keep tabs on her. Or else risk Ed getting angry.

"Ronald," came Luna's dreamy voice, "are you awake?"

"Luna, er..." He sounded just as surprised as Al was. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny told me what happened. Might as well see how you are doing, right?"

"Right... Well, I'm fine, thanks for asking."

There was a brief pause. "I didn't ask that," said Luna rather bluntly, though confused.

"Oh... well..." Ron was apparently struggling for something to say. "Never mind, then."

"Harry told me you were all right."

"Oh... yeah."

There was the sound of footsteps moving around Ron's bed. Al peered carefully into the room through the doorway to see what was going on.

"You know," said Luna, seating herself on the edge of Ron's bed, "I was poisoned once, when I was eleven."

Ron's eyes grew wide. "Really? You were?"

"But don't worry," she told him dismissively. "It wasn't like yours."

Ron relaxed, leaning back into his pillows with a relieved sigh. Luna looked at him solemnly.

"I was poisoned on purpose."

There was suddenly a look on Ron's face that was very clearly alarmed, as though there was no way he wouldn't be worried after hearing something like that. But since Luna continued to look at him like it was just a simple fact or it had happened to someone she didn't even know, he tried to hide it.

"Oh... That's... interesting."

"Well, I don't think he intended it to be potentially fatal, we were really young then after all. I guess he just thought it'd be fun."

"Why would anyone want to poison you, Luna?"

Luna shrugged, looking down at her hands. "I know what people say behind my back. I guess you could say I'm a popular topic to joke about. I'm sure you think I'm loony as well."

She turned to look at him with a sad smile on her face, replacing the usual dreaminess. Ron was taken aback by this change.

"Luna, I-"

"It's okay, Ronald, I don't blame you. And perhaps I can't really blame anyone else. I was never much like the other kids at all. I was told I dress unusually, I'm frequently ignored when I talk passionately about something, been made fun of for wearing butterbeer corks around my neck or use radishes for jewelry. So I guess I am a prime target for all the teasing and ridicule."

To say that Ron was shocked to hear this was an understatement. It was obvious from the look on Ron's face that he always thought Luna was oblivious to the way people treated her. This was possibly one of the few times he'd ever seen her make so much sense with her words.

"After I was released from the infirmary," she went on, looking thoughtful as she tried to remember things, "the boy who had poisoned me said, 'You survived, Lovegood? Weren't you just telling all of us that you'd one day see your mother in the afterlife? What, did she reject you as well? Well, I wouldn't be surprised seeing as how no one could stand how _loony _you are!'"

"_What_?" Ron seemed horrified and angry all at once. "Luna! You should have done something! You may be slightly... _different _than other people, but no one has any right to say that to you! Why didn't you tell a professor or fight back?"

"What difference would it make, Ronald?" she answered carelessly, looking down into her lap so that her long hair hid her face. "I don't think he really meant it. After all, we were eleven, and children can be so cruel sometimes. There's no use troubling yourself about it. I've been called 'Loony' most of my life, and I'm aware of it."

Ron looked at her seriously, frowning. "You deserve more than that, Luna. You can't just sit and take it."

"It's okay, actually."

She then turned toward Ron, smiling sadly and tears brimming in her eyes. Ron was taken aback to see this. He couldn't think of a single instance in which someone had seen Luna cry before.

"I mean, being with you, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, as well as being part of Dumbledore's Army... you know, it was almost like having real friends."

There was an awkward silence through which even Al was getting uncomfortable. He suddenly felt guilty for suspecting Luna of being up to something, simply because she was an unusual visitor and just a mysterious person in general. He started to inch away from the door when he heard the springs on Ron's bed shift as Luna got to her feet.

"I should go," he heard her say. "I'm commentating for this Quidditch match. Professor McGonagall told me to come early."

She turned to leave, but before she could get very far a hand reached out to grab her wrist. Luna halted immediately and turned around, confused. She looked inquisitively at the hand holding her wrist, then up into the face of its owner.

"I am," Ron mumbled quietly.

Luna blinked. "Sorry?"

"Your friend, that is," he repeated, making his voice louder and looking Luna right in the eye. "A real one."

She blinked again and then smiled. "I know... thanks, Ron."

Al almost had to run back to his post to avoid getting caught by Luna as she left the infirmary, wishing that he could will his footsteps to be quieter as he did so. Thankfully, he just barely made it to safety and Luna walked back down the hall the way she came. He watched her as she left, a great feeling of respect swelling up with him. Luna had obviously been through a lot and took it all in stride; it took someone with great strength of character to do something like that. And if there was any one in the world who understood that, the Elric brothers were great candidates.

* * *

Ed's gold eyes swept over the crowd that was filing into the Quidditch stadium, scanning every face amidst the throng of people for Draco Malfoy's pale, sharp features. So far, he'd had no luck. He'd spent the last twenty minutes cursing him to hell, though over the last five minutes he contemplated sending him to Doors of Truth instead. Losing a limb or two ought to slow Malfoy down significantly... Though Ed wasn't sure he wanted to be held responsible and get forced to add another name to his list of bodies in need of restoration. But still. He knew - he just _knew_ - that he should never have let Draco off for a bathroom break. The issue of Draco's bladder had pulled the lid over his eyes once. Ed felt like an idiot for letting it fool him again. 

And stranger still, Crabbe and Goyle were missing, too. _Both _of them! Ed had never considered their absences to be particularly worrisome since they barely had enough brains put together to cause any sort of mischief on their own. But now that Ed gave it some thought, they disappeared almost as often as Draco did, and he was starting to suspect that all three of them were disappearing together. Which was definitely not a good thing. The mastermind shouldn't be disappearing with his minions. It meant nothing but trouble for Ed.

Pansy, Zabini, and Nott were already up in the bleachers, ready to boo and curse the Gryffindor team (Harry in particular) into oblivion throughout the match. As Ed thought about this, he rolled his eyes. The house rivalry thing was just a horrible idea, the way Ed saw it, not to mention boring, pointless, and - as he'd said to Pansy time and time again - it was getting old.

Ed frowned as he failed to find Malfoy's face amidst the crowd once again. "That's it," he muttered angrily to himself, and proceeded to push his way through the students to get back to the castle.

The corridors were practically deserted, which meant that almost every single Hogwarts student had gone down to the Quidditch pitch to watch the game. This made things easier for Ed as he broke into a sprint, darting as fast as he could up and down the halls, opening every unlocked door and scanning the empty classrooms in search of Draco. He stopped on occasion to ask some of the paintings and ghosts if they'd seen the Malfoy heir, but not many of them were helpful. The most any of them could do was say "yes, he passed here not long ago," but they always failed to remember which way he was going.

Ed was so preoccupied with his search that he didn't even bother to watch where he was going, his head swiveling from side to side instead of straight ahead. Which is exactly why, when he turned one sharp corner with his head turned to look back over his shoulder, he crashed violently into somebody and they both wound up tumbling head over heels across the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're goin'!" he yelled as he tried to recover from the crash, waving one clenched fist in the air.

"Sorry!" said the other person, adjusting his round glasses. "I was just in a hurry, and-"

They both looked up at each other at the same moment, disoriented and blinking as they recognized one another. Ed was staring straight into the bespectacled face of Harry Potter, who was staring back at him in surprise.

"Ed?"

"Harry?" he asked, just as surprised as the boy he was looking back at. "Uh... What're you doing up here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Oh... Well, I'm just lookin' for someone..." Ed quickly picked himself up, looking up and down the hallway. "Damn that guy, where the hell did he run off to?"

The young wizard's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stood up. "If you're talking about Malfoy... I actually just saw him."

A spark of excitement flickered across Ed's face, but was quickly replaced with a malicious expression. Evil plots concerning how he would go about torturing Draco for the next month filled his mind to capacity.

"Where? When? What was he doing? Which way did he go? Was he with anyone?"

Harry was obviously taken aback by the strange barrage of questions. He gave Ed a strange look, studying his face carefully as though he thought his mind had just been read. Ed suddenly regretted blurting all of those things out. He'd forgotten about his cover for just a moment and had suddenly gone into military investigation mode in front of Harry. If Ed and Harry were in any way similar (and Ed was quite sure that they were), those questions were suspicious. Especially coming from someone who was supposedly one of Malfoy's friends.

Thankfully, Harry seemed to ignore the strange behavior for now. "On my way from seeing Ron, about five minutes ago. He was just walking down the hall with these two girls."

Ed drew back slightly, blinking. "Two girls?"

"Yeah..." Harry screwed up his face thoughtfully. "They didn't seem very happy."

"Weird..." Ed cupped his chin in one hand, his eyes to the floor. He echoed these facts to himself, searching for some shred of evidence to confirm his suspicions. "Two girls... Two unhappy girls..."

Here's what Ed knew. Draco Malfoy had left the Quidditch pitch to go to the bathroom almost forty minutes prior to that moment and had yet to come back. Crabbe and Goyle had been gone for about the same amount of time, give or take five to ten minutes. Malfoy was sighted walking in the halls near the infirmary, accompanied by two girls. Two unhappy looking girls.

Suddenly, it clicked in Ed's mind. He tried not to let it show on his face in front of Harry.

"Sorry Harry," he muttered as he turned to leave, "but I've gotta get going."

Harry gave him another funny look. "Oh... All right."

"So should you. I mean, I thought you were the team captain. Aren't sports captains supposed to be at their games early?"

This seemed to shock Harry back to normal, making him jump slightly in place. He scrambled to pick up his broom that he'd dropped to the floor and hurried away, waving a hasty goodbye to Edward as he went. Ed hurried off in the opposite direction, diving deeper into the heart of the castle. He didn't have much to go on in terms of information, but if Malfoy had bumped into Harry only five to ten minutes ago, he couldn't have gone far. He'd catch up sooner or later.

His mind went back to his collection of facts. The two girls. If they were unhappy to be with Malfoy, then he obviously hadn't been flirting or charming them into accompanying him to... wherever they were going to do whatever they were going to do. Which meant - based on Ed's observations of most normal girls when in Draco's presence - they probably weren't girls at all. He remembered what Draco and the Crabbe/Goyle had been saying the morning of their very first Apparition lesson. The phrases "it's awful embarrassing" and "keep a lookout" were echoing in his mind.

Crabbe and Goyle were being made to be Malfoy's lookouts... in the "embarrassing" guise of a pair of innocent girls.

They had to be using some kind of potion. Was there a gender-changing potion? Ed shuddered. He certainly hoped not. The thought of Crabbe and Goyle as girls made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Polyjuice Potion seemed a likely candidate. That made loads of sense. But whose DNA were they using? Not Pansy's, hopefully. The idea of three Pansys roaming around was just as bad as female Crabbe and Goyle.

And where were they hiding the stuff? Ed's footsteps faltered slightly. Should he raid the dorms for their stock of the potion first? Or find Malfoy and try to figure out what the hell he was doing that required lookouts?

He wasn't debating with himself for too long before he heard footsteps other than his own echoing from somewhere down the hallway. He stopped short, spinning around in place to try and catch a glimpse of who was coming. No such luck. No doubt it was a teacher, or worse, that annoying caretaker, Argus Filch. Ed cursed under his breath as he quickly searched for a place to hide. It would be too suspicious for him to be caught wandering the halls while everyone else was down at the Quidditch pitch. So he jumped on the nearest doorknob, threw it open, and ducked inside of it. He waited for whoever it was to walk past, listening intently to the sound of their footsteps.

Ed looked around at where he'd ended up. It seemed to be a tiny storage room, not much larger than a broom closet and just as cluttered. He made a face at the mess. It barely allowed him much freedom to move. Several items appeared to have been shoved rather gruffly into the corners to make room around a large wooden crate. And on top of that large wooden crate...

His eyes grew wide. A cauldron? Ed tried to spring forward to get a better look at the cauldron and its contents, but the clutter of random objects on the floor almost tripped him up. Still he persisted and moved cautiously through the mess to get to the cauldron. He peered inside and found himself staring into a vat of what looked like thick, dark mud, bubbling away sluggishly. Ed frowned, recognizing it right away. It was textbook description Polyjuice Potion, still awaiting the addition of someone's DNA. Upon closer examination, Ed found the letters "D.M." engraved into the surface of the cauldron.

_'Well, I found the stash,' _he thought to himself. At first he felt his spirits rise at the prospect of having some evidence and had considered snatching the cauldron away, but found to his dismay that he'd have to leave it alone for now. _'I've gotta catch 'em in the act first.'_

When the coast was clear, Ed snuck out of the closet and, after making a mental note of exactly where he was (fourth floor, near a bathroom), resumed his search for Malfoy in a much calmer manner than before. He'd ended up wasting a lot of time hiding in that closet from whoever had been patrolling and had lost a great deal of the hope he'd had of catching up to him. The halls were practically deserted, save for a pair of first-year girls he found on the seventh floor gawking at a tapestry of trolls in tutus and murmuring to one another. Ed gave them a funny look as he passed, which was apparently was enough to startle them and ended up dropping everything they were holding to the floor with a loud clatter. He didn't bother helping them; they were weird.

He gave up after another forty-five minutes, went down to the dorms, whipped out a quill and parchment, and wrote the shortest report he'd ever written since his mission began. Ed was sure Mustang wasn't pleased with him (always an extremely comforting thought), since his last several reports had each been shorter than the last.

_Got a lead on what Malfoy's up to.  
More details later._

Even in the usual code that he used, the message wasn't much longer than three sentences. Upon reviewing his "report," Ed tried to imagine the annoyance on Mustang's face when he received it and savored the thought. It would have been so much nicer if he could really be there to see it. It made him feel better to know that his foul mood would be spread around. He thought of training Eule to laugh mockingly, just to anger Mustang further, but soon found that owls were incredibly difficult to train and decided he'd save it for another time.

He left the owlery and reentered the castle feeling rather pleased with himself, but it was short-lived. The halls were filled with loud chatter, and Ed could only guess that the Quidditch game had ended early and everyone was back. But as he continued walking, he discovered that the loud noise wasn't the accumulative sounds of hundreds of students returning from the pitch - it was the hysterics of a group of about five Gryffindors. How they could make so much noise, Ed would probably never know.

They were all crowded around someone that was being carried urgently in the direction of the infirmary. He raised an eyebrow at the commotion, some part of him feeling extremely inquisitive about it and wanting to see who it was and what had happened, but he shook it off. He'd just ask Al about it later. Al would be sure to know.

Though he didn't have to wait to find out about it. When Pansy, Nott, and Zabini came back from the game, they were shrieking with laughter. Ed's eyes snapped up from the pages of the book and notes he'd been reading, his concentration suddenly shattered. These Slytherins had a talent for interrupting him in the middle of his research. It was slowing him down immensely.

"What the hell are you guys so happy about?" he growled.

He silently hoped the explanation would be short for once, but soon found out that would be too much to hope for. Everyone turned their gazes onto Ed, malicious grins on their faces. Then they quickly descended on him like a pack of vultures. Their voices garbled together as they started to relay different points of what had just happened without really waiting for anyone to finish.

"The Gryffindors-"

"That McLaggen bloke-"

"He's always been a prat-"

"-hit a bludger the wrong way-"

"-lost the match!"

"-but I'm starting to like him..."

"- and it smacked Potter-"

"Three hundred and twenty to sixty!"

"He was arguing with-"

"-right in the head, knocked him-"

"That about puts them-"

"-Potter throughout the _entire _game!"

"-clear off his broom!"

"-in their right place!"

"At least until he got-"

"HAHAHAHA!"

"Fell right outta the sky!"

"-injured, but... oh well."

Ed blinked. Their stories were so jumbled up that he had a hard time trying to figure out the right order, but he tried anyway. Pansy seemed to have gotten a hold of some sort of weird gossip, Nott was guffawing over how the Gryffindors had lost the game, and Zabini was talking about how Potter had been injured. Wait a second...

"Harry got hit in the head with a... What's a bludger?"

This comment made all three Slytherins fall silent and they each gave him a funny look. Then Zabini let out a great laugh.

"Bloody hell, Elric. You've really got to watch a Quidditch game properly for once in your life!"

Ed snorted, picking up his notebook and absently flipping through the pages. _'Like I can help that. Tell Malfoy to stick around long enough, then maybe I finally will.'_

"Bludgers," said Nott, rolling his eyes, "are the heavy balls that the Beaters knock at the other team's players. You know, to knock 'em out of commission."

There was a bored, annoyed tone in the Slytherin's voice as he spoke, but at the same time Ed could pick up on a tinge of superiority. As though his knowledge of all things Quidditch brought Nott up a rung on the intellectual ladder. Ed frowned, not knowing what Beaters were or what it was with Nott and his bizarre sense of sadism, but chose not to bring either of these things up. Deciding that he didn't want to hear the information from Nott, Ed turned to Zabini.

"So Harry got hit in the head with one. He okay?"

Pansy and Nott shot Ed incredulous stares, obviously unable to understand why on earth Ed cared about the Gryffindor's well-being. Zabini seemed momentarily disoriented for the same reason, but quickly shrugged it off in favor of answering.

"If you call getting your skull cracked open 'okay,' then sure, he's in paradise."

Ed's eyebrows knitted together and he lowered his research notebook to his lap. "His skull got cracked open? Damn, is he even still _alive_?"

"Oh, he's alive all right. Just holed up in the infirmary."

At this, Nott let out an annoyed snort and looked away, as though disappointed that the chance had been missed. Ed shot him a piercing look, muttering under his breath about twisted sadists.

It was still a long while before Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle came back. Nott had already ducked into his dorm ahead of the others, probably because Ed kept glaring at him every time he mentioned either Harry or Ron being in the infirmary. Blaise stayed in the common room, trying once again to distract Ed from his book, but looked like he'd just about forgotten about him once Draco entered. He leaned back in his seat with an amused chuckle and watched as Pansy immediately threw herself on Draco, ignoring the anger that marred his features.

"Oh, Drakey!" she trilled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "The match ended _ages_ ago, I've missed you!"

Draco just glowered at Pansy and quickly pushed her off of him. He tried to follow Crabbe and Goyle into the dorm, but the Slytherin girl persisted, linking her arm with his and effectively holding him hostage.

"Did you hear about Potter?" she went on. "You _must _have heard about Potter, everyone's been talking about it!"

"Don't pester me with gossip, Pans."

"You haven't heard?" she gasped, as though it were a heinous crime. "You haven't heard the news about what happened to _Potter_?!? Where've you been all this time, what on earth have you been doing?"

"Pans-"

"Yeah, Malfoy. What the hell were you doing all afternoon?"

Both Draco and Zabini turned to look at Ed, Zabini's eyebrows raised in surprise while Draco's silver eyes narrowed. Ed made no move to meet either of their gazes and just flipped to the next page of his book, his golden eyes still following the lines written on the open page. There wasn't a trace of malice on his face, almost as though he'd asked the question simply out of harmless curiosity. But there had been a hint of aggravation in his voice that suggested otherwise.

"It's none of your business," the Malfoy heir grunted at last.

He freed himself from Pansy's grasp, saying something under his breath about how he was exhausted and wanted to get some sleep, and then made his way to the dorms. Pansy pouted for a moment, watching Draco like she was debating the pros and cons of following him there, and then rounded on Ed.

"_Eddy_!" she said scoldingly.

Ed glanced up from his book, raising his eyebrows in surprise as though he honestly didn't know what he'd done wrong. "What?"

"Why did you have to interrupt us like that? We were having a moment!"

A dumbstruck look replaced the false innocence on his face. "A moment...? Are you _retarded_?!? He was brushing you off before I even said anything!"

Pansy drew back in horror like she'd been slapped in the face. She opened and closed her mouth, clearly looking as though she'd never been more insulted in her life. Ed rolled his eyes. He partly regretted asking her if she was retarded. The answer to that should have been obvious to anyone with a brain. Pansy Parkinson was quite possibly the most mind-numbingly stupid girl Ed had ever had the displeasure of knowing.

"All things considered, I'm surprised you're still hanging around him," he said pointedly. "In case you forgot, which I guess wouldn't be too surprising, he's in love with someone else."

Zabini scoffed. "Elric, come on. What happened Valentine's morning was fun-" Pansy gasped in horror. "-but we all know Malfoy can't possibly be in love."

Ed glanced briefly at Zabini and then shrugged. "Coulda fooled me."

Silence fell over the room. Pansy suddenly looked like she was on the verge of tears, probably reliving "the great break-up" all over again, but was fighting valiantly against it. Blaise just looked shocked and confused, opening and closing his mouth and spluttering out random sounds. Ed grinned inwardly, returning to his book. He was pleased with the effect he'd created.

"So then..." Pansy gulped down some air, finally composing herself. "You... Do you _know_?"

The shock on Zabini's face heightened, his eyes growing wide as he stared at Ed. Ed was feeling more pleased by the minute.

"Maybe," he smirked. Both Pansy and Blaise stared at him incredulously. "Are you guys that thick? You'd have to be an idiot not to have noticed..."

He paused thoughtfully. No, he took that back. Pansy and Blaise _were _idiots. Immediately, both Slytherins pounced on him, startling Ed so much that he dropped his book. He stared at it where it had fallen, frowning.

"Now I've lost my place..."

"Who is she, Eddy?!?"

"Tell us who! _Tell us_!"

Ed reached for his book, snorting indignantly. "Why, so you can bury her alive? I don't owe you guys anything."

"_Please _tell us, Eddy! You've got to! I'm simply _dying _to know who he's in love with, I _need _to _know_! _Please_, Eddy!"

"Keep calling me 'Eddy' and you'll _never _know."

"Oh, come on, Elric!" insisted Zabini. "You can't tease us with something this juicy and expect us to leave it alone! Spill the beans!"

While flipping through the pages in search of his spot, Ed twitched involuntarily upon hearing the word "bean." He shot Blaise an annoyed look and then rolled his eyes. It wasn't long before he gave up on recovering his place and, shutting the book with a loud snap, got to his feet and started for the dorms.

"It's not my business to tell," he told the others as he went. "If you really want or 'need' to know or whatever, go ask him yourself."

Then, without waiting for a response, Ed ducked into the dorms and out of sight. Pansy and Zabini were both left stunned in his wake, looking helplessly at one another.

* * *

Hermione exited the infirmary after visiting her two hospitalized friends the next morning. It hadn't been a very interesting visit. It largely consisted of filling Ron in on everything he'd been missing, which was mostly class stuff since he'd already heard everything about the Quidditch match. And on top of everything, Hermione was getting a sneaking suspicion that Harry and Ron were up to something and weren't going to tell her about it. She supposed that was all right; she was bound to find out sooner or later. It was sure to slip out at some point. 

Once she'd walked through the doorway and stepped out into the hall, Hermione leaned against the wall and sighed heavily, closing her eyes. Being Ron's tutor all of a sudden was strange, especially since they'd just gotten out of that fight they'd been having for the past few months. She sighed again, running a hand through her hair, and then pushed off from the wall, ready to make her way to the library. But the moment she opened her eyes, something caught her attention.

She could see Draco Malfoy lurking in one of the distant corners of the hallway. For a moment, she wondered what he was doing there and automatically began to assume that he was plotting to do something horrible to Harry and Ron while they were resting in the infirmary. She was about to go back into the infirmary to warn them when their eyes met and Hermione froze. And suddenly she could hear her own voice echoing in her head...

_"I want to believe that it's just a mask he puts on. ... When he looks at me... it's a strange feeling. Like it's some other person looking at me. ... somewhere deep down, he's a different person..."_

It was her _own _voice saying those things. Not Ginny's, or Luna's, or anyone else's. Hermione couldn't make heads or tails of the thoughts that were going through her mind. There was a sudden rush of memories in which Malfoy was there. She could see him smirking wickedly, mocking and sneering at her, calling her Mudblood, and then, more recently, stopping Nott from hitting her...

Malfoy suddenly averted his gaze, a deep frown etched on his face, then quickly made his way around the corner and out of sight.

Hermione was momentarily stunned, similarly to the way she had been when the Slytherins had abandoned her in the hallway. For a brief moment she again wondered if Malfoy was plotting something... It was so confusing! Her feet faltered, moving first in one direction and then in another. And then suddenly...

She was knocked right off her feet.

* * *

**Author's Note:** i hate to have to stop on that note (hehe) but at least you have the insurance of knowing that there's more to come. 

okay, not much to say about this chapter. it's kinda just been sitting around for a little while already, getting an occasional tweak, but there are some other things that needed to be taken care of before i put it up (which i still haven't completely taken care of, so the next update may take another little while). though it did take a bizarrely long amount of time to write the last few parts. i... can't remember why, but i know that it did. damn writer's block.

as you can see, Pansy hasn't given up on Draco. _damn _she's persistent. and Zabini is obviously a better person than Nott. Nott is evil to me :P and oh! i made another pairing. if you're getting tired of all that, it's the last one, i promise! there are just lots of couples i'd like to see in this FMA/HP verse i've created... i promise that's the last pairing i make!

so... hm. that's all i can say for now. please leave a review on your way out! you know how feedback motivates me. XD


	28. Magic Barriers

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **sorry it took so long, everyone. for one thing, there was my last week of classes so i had all these finals and projects and stuff to do. stupid school... grr. another reason would be... well, holiday distractions. every time vacation rolls around, the family demands that we immerse ourselves in activities... constantly going out and whatnot, keeps me away from the computer and distracts my brain from writing... and of course, there's writer's block. writer's block is pure evil. transition chapters are the worst (this one isn't a transition chapter, but the one i'm writing right now is). and, sad to say, but the next chapter may take equally as long to post up as this one did. my co-writer Mjade-1 has been overwhelmed with long-term emotional turmoil and such, which is the reason why ideas for CSAG are coming in a very halting manner. some asshole recently shattered her heart to pieces, breaking her happy disposition and rendering her unable to function creatively. so you'll forgive us for the slow updates, i hope.

and, uh... i got this weird review from "dgrthytrhyt", anonymously (probably banged on the keyboard for their name), so i can't reply to it... but whoever that is must have some kinda problem, seeing as (s)he insulted the story after reading only the first chapter, or maybe not even reading it at all. i guess (s)he also didn't want to elaborate on the "you suck" comment and is also trying to prevent me from lashing out at them for being so closed minded and demanding further explanation, hence the anonymous-ness. if i'm gonna be insulted, i'd appreciate it if the insults weren't so - what's the word i'm looking for? - stupid. i could at least be told _why_ i suck. oh well, i'm over it. hopefully i'll be encountering fewer and fewer of these sorts of people.

once again, sorry for the long wait! here's the next chapter at last!

* * *

**Chapter 28**  
**Magic Barriers**

Edward peeled his face off of the floor with a pained groan. He really had to learn to watch where he was running. Constantly searching for Draco had stuck him with the bad habit of not looking ahead of him. He rubbed the spots that hurt the most with a slight wince and then quickly flexed his auto-mail limbs to make sure they were still working. Only then did he turn around to see who he had ploughed down in his rush.

Hermione Granger looked _very _disoriented. Ed looked _very _embarrassed.

"Oh, shit! Sorry 'bout that, Hermione!"

She blinked up at Ed as he scrambled over to help her up. He smiled apologetically, rotating his right shoulder as he held out his left hand for Hermione to take.

"I've been bumping into everyone lately. First Harry, now you..."

Hermione just smiled slightly as she accepted his help. "It's all right, Edward," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I was a bit distracted is all, I should've heard you coming down the hall."

This sparked a small glimmer of malice-driven hope within Ed. Could she have seen Malfoy go past? Ed was getting so fed up with chasing him around. He glanced up and down the corridor, trying not to look too excited with the idea of finally catching Draco.

"Distracted? By what?"

The Gryffindor just sighed, running her hands over her bushy hair in a rather futile attempt to tame it. "Erm... Nothing, really..."

Ed's eyebrows knitted together. When she put it _that _way, she definitely didn't mean it. Ed looked up and down the corridor again and soon realized that they were practically right outside of the infirmary. That seemed to explain things... Maybe she hadn't seen Draco at all. Ed cast a furtive look at the entrance, his curiosity once again coming to a peak. What happened to Harry and Ron worried him somewhat. He couldn't help but feel like he was partially responsible for Ron's poisoning since he should have been able to stop it from happening. And as for Harry, Ed wanted to know how the hell someone survived getting their skull cracked open.

He looked back at Hermione and nodded toward the infirmary. "How are they?"

"Hmm? Oh, they should be all right soon. Ron already seems to have made a full recovery. As for Harry, Madam Pomfrey can fix broken bones in a heartbeat, so there's really no need to worry." She heaved a sigh, lowering her gaze as she smoothed down her robes.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound too convinced."

Hermione glanced up at Ed, somewhat confused. Then, realizing what he was talking about, she sighed again and shook her head. "Oh no, it's not Harry I'm sighing about, I'm just... just a bit tired. It's been very confusing lately..."

"Confusing?"

She nodded her head slowly, her gaze lowered to the floor once again. "Edward," she began, her voice slow and thoughtful, "when you told me about Malfoy not being as bad as I thought he was, what did you mean by that?"

Ed hesitated for a moment before replying, several different trains of thought streaking through his mind. Then at last, he shrugged.

"Exactly what I said. He's really... not all _that _bad." He mentally rolled his eyes at himself, his thoughts drifting a bit. Yeah, Draco really wasn't all that bad... even though he _did_ put the lives of two innocent students in mortal danger. "And I've seen _a lot _of rotten characters... Besides, you were the one who said it was just a front he put on."

"I said I _wanted _to believe that," Hermione corrected him forlornly.

He looked over at Hermione slowly, his eyes taking on a thoughtful yet anxious gleam. Hermione was the one who had convinced Ed to give Draco more chances than he felt were deserved. He couldn't afford to have her lose faith now! If there was anyone around that held any sort of influence over Draco's actions...

"So what's stopping you?"

Hermione sighed again and shook her head. "They say old habits die hard. He can't just suddenly stop hating me, and I can't just immediately forgive him for everything..."

Ed anxiously shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Did it ever cross your mind that he doesn't actually hate you?"

She laughed suddenly, rolling her eyes as though it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "What are you talking about, Edward? Of _course_, he does-"

"Not from what I've seen," Ed went on with a shrug. "I mean, sure, maybe he _used _to, I wouldn't really know. But whatever it was back then, it looks like it's gone now."

"_Gone_?" Hermione echoed incredulously. "How could you say his hatred for me is gone? He's been so horrible to Harry and Ron this year..."

"Well, think about it. Has he done anything to _you_ specifically?"

Hermione opened her mouth, about to tell him that yes he has, of _course _he has, but her voice caught in her throat. She suddenly realized that it was more Malfoy's friends who had been calling her "Mudblood" lately, and he himself had said very little to her all year. And then... there was _that_.

"Uh... Hermione?" Ed's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the confused expression that now graced her face. Her silence irked him slightly. As far as he knew about Hermione, she always had something to say.

"Ed," she said at last in a quiet, hollow voice. "There's something I should tell you."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What is it?"

"A few weeks ago... I was sort of attacked by Nott."

"_What_? Whaddaya mean 'attacked'? What the hell did he do to you?!"

"Well, they were all ridiculing me," Hermione went on, shifting uncomfortably, "and I just lost it completely and slapped him across the face." Ed's eyes went wide, impressed. She didn't seem to notice. "I knew it was a mistake, because I was suddenly grabbed and held in place and Nott threatened to hit me. I never knew Nott could become so angry and for the first time I was absolutely terrified of him."

Ed's expression twisted angrily, his right hand balling into a fist. "Nott, that evil bastard! He's such a _fucking_...!I'm gonna kill him. I'm just gonna - Hermione, if he ever tries something like that again, just tell me and I'll-"

"Actually," Hermione said, interrupting Ed's spiteful rant. She bit down on her lower lip. "Er... I doubt he ever will again. His fist never reached my face."

The young blonde blinked. "I thought you said-"

"He threatened to hit me. And he was about to... if Malfoy hadn't stopped him."

This news both shocked and amazed Ed, his eyes growing wide. "Y'mean he... he...?"

"Saved me?" Hermione finished, a small, sheepish smile on her lips. "Yes, it seems unreal doesn't it? Since when has Malfoy ever helped a person in need, and a Muggle-born no less? But then again... Maybe you do have a point, Ed, maybe I didn't imagine it after all. I mean... Could he have changed? Is it possible?"

Ed was silent, suddenly finding his mind in a whirl and leaving him with a very distinct feeling of disorientation. He'd practically already made up his mind to dog Draco in everything he did, quite desperate to catch him at what he was doing, but he suddenly found himself wondering whether or not he should give Draco another chance. As far as Ed was concerned, the idea of Draco suddenly standing up for Hermione in front of the other Slytherins... It was impossibility becoming reality.

Like magic.

"You know, Hermione..." Ed's voice was quiet and solemn. "For some reason, you have a way of making impossible things become possible. I guess even someone as cold, cruel, and unfeeling as Draco Malfoy is no exception."

Hermione just looked at Ed for a moment, then finally turned away, sighing. "I appreciate that, Edward. But there are still some things in our world nobody can achieve. There's only one thing that could make Draco Malfoy change."

"What's that?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, turning back around so that her gaze met with Ed's, she spoke. Her words came out slowly, almost uncertainly.

"Learning... to love."

Ed's eyes widened slightly. Then, ever so slowly, his gaze became sad. _'If you only knew the truth, Hermione...'_

* * *

The conversation he'd had with Hermione kept ringing in Ed's ears, but it didn't stop him from glaring at Draco in an attempt to burn holes into his skull and give him a glimpse of what was going on inside of it. Over the past few days, Ed's luck had taken a turn for the worst. Draco's disappearances were turning Ed's life into a living hell. Ed wanted so desperately to know what Draco was up to that he got increasingly angry and frustrated with each passing day, and it showed. 

He was running out of ways to vent his anger now that Al was often too busy to spare a quick sparring match with him. So he made a small, sturdy punching bag which he put near his bed and threw punches at it a few times a day, usually in the morning after he woke up and at night before going to sleep. His roommates thought it strange, but Ed honestly could have cared less what they thought. He would've preferred punching a few of _them _right in the face, but resisted. They didn't seem to realize that his punching bag was saving them some broken noses.

Ed gave it a particularly malicious punch that morning after coming back from his shower. It was barely five o'clock in the morning and Draco was already missing. He was starting to suspect that, in favor of working on his assassination plot or whatever else it was that his "master" had ordered him to do and given how sickly-looking he was becoming, Draco hardly ever slept anymore.

He glared at Malfoy's empty four-poster bed for a moment, and then turned to give Crabbe and Goyle's beds the same treatment. Ever since Ed had realized that they were helping Draco, he took careful note of everything they did. He'd noticed that they were separated from one another more often these days. If Draco was around they were both present, but if not, they seemed to be taking turns disappearing. Like now. The bed labeled "Goyle" was empty, the sheets left rumpled in what looked to Ed like a hasty wake-up call. Ed scowled. Draco was smart. For the most part, he knew what he was doing, and that only served to make Ed angrier.

_'What I wouldn't give to have the investigation team on you, Malfoy,' _Ed thought bitterly. _'A team of trained spies to watch you 24/7 and report everything back to me...'_

He knew it was pointless to wish for such a thing. While in Hogwarts, Ed didn't have the same power and influence that he had in Amestris for being a high-ranking member of the military. The only person he had any command over at all while he was there was Alphonse, but he had duties (and desires) of his own to take care of. And besides, Al wasn't a member of the military. All he could do was ask Al to notify him if he ever spotted Draco out and about on his own, to which Al agreed without hesitation. Though lately, Ed had been getting the strangest feeling that he wasn't the only one who wanted to know what Draco was up to. There had been times when Ed could have sworn that somebody was following and watching them, but whenever he turned around to see who it was, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Edward turned back to his punching bag and threw one more punch at it. He almost felt sorry for it; the stuffing was already starting to come out at the seams, and Ed had only made the damn thing two days ago.

Heaving another deep, aggravated sigh, Ed started to head for the door. It was the start of another one of his rounds. Ed had just about exhausted every search route he could think of (which was _a lot_) and was starting to feel like these searches were pointless. There was no end to them! He had searched practically every single hall, classroom, and closet in Hogwarts (he'd become quite proficient with the _Alohamora_ charm) and had yet to find him. He'd considered the possibility that Draco was even leaving Hogwarts grounds, but immediately refuted it. Dumbledore had tightened security around the school. There was no way that a sixteen year old would be able to get through whatever measures had been taken without being detected.

Ed ran a hand through his hair. He could once again hear Hermione's voice and his own, talking about second chances and how Draco had changed... How Draco had protected Hermione from one of his Slytherin lackeys... Maybe Ed would do better if he backed off a bit, even for just a little while. He'd have to think about that.

It took him longer than usual to cover the entire route he'd planned out. Probably because he'd decided not to run around the way he usually did and just wandered around the school at a leisurely pace, as though he'd thought it would be nice to stroll around the school before the sun came up. Ed sighed heavily as he approached Gryffindor tower, getting ready to make a wide U-turn to go back. His search was still coming up empty. It didn't matter how much of a head-start Draco got on him or how much he was coming to know about the situation; Ed couldn't find him anywhere. He checked his watch. 6:53 AM. Breakfast would be served soon, and Ed was starved.

He had just turned around to head to the Great Hall when he heard someone approaching him from behind. Someone with very heavy, clanking footsteps.

"Nii-san! _Nii-san_!"

Ed stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, blinking sleepily at his younger brother as he closed the distance between them.

"Al? What's wrong?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you! I tried to call you, but you weren't answering. So I went down to the dungeons to find you-"

Ed raised one hand in the air, gesturing silently for Al to stop talking. "Wait, you tried to _call _me?" Al nodded. "What, like with a phone? Al, you know things like that don't work in the castle, and no one even _has _a phone around here."

"Not with a _phone_, nii-san," Al said insistently. "With the _mirror_!"

The older brother stared. "The mirror."

"Yes! Don't you remember? The birthday present I gave you, the little compact mirror?" Ed remained silent, staring at his younger brother as though he'd lost his mind. Al sighed impatiently. "It acts as a sort of magical, two-way radio."

His mind drifted back, trying to figure out what Al was talking about. An image of a small mirror in brown paper wrapping sprang forward, and Ed vaguely remembered tucking it away into his trunk.

"Ohh, is _that _what it was? I meant to ask you about that before, musta slipped my mind."

"No wonder I wasn't getting a response. You didn't know what it was."

"Well, how could I have known? If you had just told me what it was beforehand..." Ed shook his head, pushing the thought away for now. He'd go back and check on the mirror later. "Anyway, what did you need to tell me?"

Al jumped slightly. "Oh right! Nii-san, I saw Mr. Draco!"

Ed's mind snapped into place and he suddenly found himself wide awake and on full alert. Forget giving up the search! This was exactly what Ed needed! His meal could wait a few more minutes. He wasn't _that _hungry.

"You did?! Where?! What was he doing?!"

"Not far from here, actually. I was playing with Crookshanks on the seventh floor when I saw him farther down the hall. He was with this little girl, I think she might have been a first year, and he wandered around in circles for a little while and then... well, it looked like he walked into the wall. Or... maybe he entered a door, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen a door there."

"Walked into the wall, huh? That would explain why I can never find him..." Ed grinned suddenly. "This is perfect. Now I can find out what he's been up to! Al, can you take me to the exact place you saw him?"

The suit of armor nodded and quickly led Ed farther down the hallway. When they rounded the corner he retreated slightly. Ed had been following Al too closely and ended up bumping right into him. He bounced back and fell to the floor with a groan of pain.

"Al, what're you-"

"The little girl is still there..."

Ed blinked. "Little girl...?"

He crawled over, peered around the corner, and looked down the hall. Sure enough, standing near a long tapestry with trolls dressed in tutus was a young girl with a heavy-looking set of scales in her arms. She really must have been a first year, as Al had said. But there was a horrible scowl on her face that seemed unbecoming of her features. Ed felt like he had seen that expression somewhere before. Somewhere dumb and unattractive and...

"Oh, _duh_!" He slapped his forehead. "I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I notice it before?!"

Al glanced at his brother, confused. "Notice what, nii-san?"

"That little girl," Ed growled, now narrowing his golden eyes at her, "must be Goyle."

"What?!"

"He was the only one missing this morning so that's gotta be him. He probably drops those scales as a way to notify Malfoy when someone's around. Makes sense... No one would ever suspect..."

"Nii-san, what are you talking about?"

Ed looked up at Al and flashed only the briefest of apologetic smiles. "Oh, sorry... See, Malfoy's been using Crabbe and Goyle as lookouts. He makes them drink Polyjuice potion so that they look like someone else while they do their job. I knew he was forcing them to be girls, I just didn't think he'd pick a couple of random first years. Should've seen it coming..." Ed leaned back against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It seems so _obvious _now, why didn't I see it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess if it were me, then I'd do the same thing. He must have decided to use first years because they'd be less noticeable and easily overlooked. They don't know anyone and haven't quite created a niche for themselves in school society yet, so no one would think it strange for them to just be hanging around the hallway... I doubt Malfoy personally knows anyone younger than fourteen, so a disguise as an eleven year old makes it seem like they're completely unrelated."

Al seemed impressed. "Wow... Seems like he's really thought this through."

Ed groaned, ruffling his hair in frustration. "Dammit. Even I didn't care about seeing a couple of little girls gawking at that damn tapestry. I just thought they were weird and moved on every time... They were _always there_, _every single time _Malfoy vanished on me, and I didn't notice until now..." He shook his head slightly, letting out a soft, bitter chuckle. "Smart move, Malfoy. Smart move."

"So then, Mr. Draco really _is _on the other side of that wall, isn't he?"

"He's gotta be." Ed looked around the corner again and gave the disguised Goyle a dirty glare. "Now if we could just get rid of that idiot, I could probably figure out a way in... We need some kind of distraction."

"Yeah..."

It wasn't easy trying to think of ways to make Goyle leave. Chasing him away or scaring him seemed like the best idea, but if he saw their faces then he might stay. And there was no doubt in either of their minds that both methods would make him drop the scales to the floor, inadvertently alerting Draco of their presence. There would be no helping that, Ed decided. He suddenly wished that he'd made an alliance with some of the ghosts. From what he had heard about Peeves the Poltergeist, his antics would probably come in handy right about then.

Finally deciding on a course of action, Ed slapped his hands together, grinning eagerly.

"Al, you have _no _idea how much I wanna do this."

Were he able to, Al would have sweat dropped at his brother's comment. Still grinning, Ed laid his hands on the floor and with a brilliant crackle of blue lightning started the transmutation. The lightning streaked from the spot around Ed's hands, through the floor, down the hallway, toward Goyle. The moment it reached Goyle, the floor swerved upward slightly and formed a large hand that loomed threateningly over his head for a moment, then made a vicious reach to grab him. Goyle, being in the form of a girl, gave out a high-pitched, terrified shriek before running away, dropping the set of scales with a loud clatter.

Ed burst into laughter, feeling a large part of his pent up frustration evaporate. He then leapt to his feet and hurried down the hall to fix the floor, Al just behind him. He clapped his hands and laid them on the stone hand, returning the floor to normal. He then turned to face the blank stretch of wall, on the other side of which was Draco. Supposedly.

"The other side of this wall, right?" he asked Al, not taking his eyes off the wall.

"I think so," the younger brother confirmed. "How are you going to get through?"

"Simple." Ed clapped his hands once again and walked toward the wall. "I just gotta transmute myself a doorway and-"

The second Ed's hands touched the surface of the wall, there was a flash of blinding light and Ed was suddenly thrown back into the opposite wall. Al gasped in shock and immediately ran to his brother's side. Ed slid slightly down the wall until he was on the floor slumped against it. His eyes were wide as he stared at the wall in front of him, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Wha... What the hell...?"

"Nii-san! Are you okay?!"

Al bent down and helped Ed to his feet, who was still looking slightly dazed. "Yeah... I'm fine, just a little... That was..."

"Could it have been a rebound?"

Ed shook his head, his mind starting to clear a bit. "No, not a rebound... Seemed more like... like a rejection."

"A rejection?"

"Yeah," he murmured thoughtfully. "A rejection... There was something in the wall that my alchemy didn't mix well with... I think that wall might be protected by magic."

He looked down into his hands, feeling a slight prickling sensation in the fingertips of his left. Strangely enough, he thought he could feel something in his right hand, though it was definitely of a more electrical nature. It was as though something had momentarily disrupted the electric current in his auto-mail. Traces of the magic, most likely. Ed flexed all his fingers experimentally, making sure that everything still moved properly.

Al stared. "But... But you can use both alchemy _and _magic. Why would it be rejected?"

Ed thought for a moment. "Different energy sources, maybe? I guess it's never really been proven, but in alchemy we use more of an external source, the energy already inherent in the currents of the world, right?"

The younger brother nodded. "Right..."

"Well, according to what I've been able to figure out, it seems that magic utilizes an entirely _internal _source, namely the energy force already within the body of the wizard. So it makes sense that there would be some degree of friction between the base energies when applied directly against one another."

He then walked back toward the wall and pressed his left hand against its surface. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on detecting the energy. He never had to think about it when he transmuted usually since it had become an almost subconscious action, one of the so-called benefits of having seen "true knowledge." Ed wondered briefly if Draco had heard all the racket from inside. He snickered slightly at the thought of Draco sitting there looking nervously at the entrance. After a moment, Ed dropped his arm and backed away.

"Dammit. There's definitely a heavy concentration of magic here."

Alphonse heaved a weary sigh. "What are you going to do, then?"

Ed glared at the wall for a moment. He didn't like this. Why the hell did a wall like this exist in the first place? And how the hell did _Draco _get through it? Ed made up his mind to find out exactly what the wall was and why it was so... magical, for lack of a better word. He needed to get through. There was probably some incantation about it he didn't know of. He'd have to find out. But for now...

He took another deep breath and clapped his hands again.

"Nii-san, what're you doing? I thought you said that wasn't going to work!"

"Just one more try, Al. I wasn't prepared for it before, but I've got an idea this time."

Al made a small, nervous sound, but obediently stayed back. Ed stepped closer to the wall, braced himself, and pressed his hands to the wall. This time he would focus on the magic that surrounded the wall. He'd decompose _that_ first, then once it was out of the way it'd be just another wall.

Light flashed again, a great force trying to push Ed away, but he'd been ready for it this time. He grounded his left leg and pushed all his weight into the wall. The clash of alchemy and magic was incredible; the wall was suddenly covered in strings of blue lightning and gold lights, and right in the middle of it all was Ed, fighting against a powerful force. It felt like a small vortex had formed in the space between his hands, powerful gusts of wind swirling around him, blowing his robes and long hair back. Ed clenched his teeth, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his hands on the wall. He wasn't sure if it was working... No, it definitely wasn't working...

He finally broke away and was forced backward again, except this time he wasn't thrown back into the wall. Ed slid back several feet, the friction between his boots and the floor bringing him to a stop. He took long, deep breaths as he recovered, pulling himself together. He could feel his finger tips prickling with energy again and rubbed them against his pants to make them stop as he stood.

"Damn."

"Nii-san..."

Ed got ready to try one more time, but Al stopped him, laying a hand on his shoulder. The older brother looked up at him, only to find Al pointing down the hallway. Ed's gaze followed Al's. Various students were waking up and filtering into the hallway, already heading down for breakfast. Ed checked his pocket watch for the time and realized that it was already a quarter past seven. He remained silent as the students passed them down the hallway, but kept his glare steadily on the surface of the wall. Once the hall was almost deserted once again, Ed and Al went their own ways. Ed was suddenly hungrier than ever, so he bee-lined for the Great Hall after telling Al to contact him again the next time he saw Draco pass through the wall.

He wondered briefly what he was going to do when he saw Draco and Goyle later on during breakfast. Stealth and subtlety wasn't exactly Ed's forte. Life would be so much easier if he could just beat them into confession. Ed glanced back over his shoulder at the wall and frowned.

* * *

**Author's Note: **awww, somebody successfully guessed what happened to Hermione. i'd give you a cookie, but i know that virtual ones aren't nearly as exciting as the real thing. :P i was quite sublimely amused when i first sent the ending to Mjade-1 and she flipped out on me. hehe... how anti-climactic, huh? 

anyways, one small part of the greater mystery is finally solved! less stress for Ed! yay! XD he's so smart, too. though i honestly have no idea where that rant about alchemy and magic came from. speaking of which, i'm still going with a lot of manga definitions and stuff, so i'm disregarding that bit in the anime during the state certification exam where that guy got all exhausted from transmuting. take a look at the way Ed and Al quote Izumi early on in the manga... they always talk about the flow of life and the currents of the world, so i think it's safe to assume that alchemy's energy source is more external than internal.

oh, and for that bit where he puts his hand against the wall to detect the elements... i don't have any actual basis for that, but i'm assuming that something like that must happen whenever Ed transmutes stuff. i mean, alchemists can apparently limit the alchemic reaction to apply only to iron, or oxygen, or flesh, or whatever... for some of them it looks like all it's all accounted for in the calculations in the array and they need only to focus on a particular ingredient if they need to (like with Mustang and Scar). but Ed transmutes fast, without the use of a circle, so i can only assume that everything gets calculated at light speed in his head... he should be able to slow down and break down his process if he wanted to, so that's what i was thinking for that part.

um... okay, enough rambling from me. hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! please look forward to the next one! and pray that Mjade and i break through all the stuff that's keeping us from writing faster. XP


	29. Through the Looking Glass

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
_by hikaranko_**

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." And now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting how many people really read this story. XD Anyways, my apologies, one and all, for the late update! I meant to put it up on the 19th ('cause it was CSAG!Ed's birthday XD), but - as I told you all last time - the universe has been conspiring against me lately. There were some trivial, unimportant delays and then loads of other, more complicated reasons why life hasn't been easy... One of which is the terror of school, which has started up and has been horribly evil to me. But since I finally managed to plow through some of my writer's block, I decided it was high time I reward all my lovely, loyal readers for their patience.

and now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! i present to you:

* * *

**Chapter 29**  
**Through the Looking-Glass**

Ed twirled his wand between his fingers as he thought, his gold-colored eyes looking straight through and beyond the hedgehog that was sitting in front of him on his desk. He was supposed to be transfiguring it into a harp, but he had other things on his mind. Like that damn magic wall.

He was grateful for the fact that he no longer had to wonder where Draco was disappearing to. His worries were now more focused on what he was doing behind that wall and how Ed could catch him at it. He'd camped out in the library between all of his classes, trying to find a book that would give him some useful information on magic walls or something similar, but he had yet to find anything. There were so many questions in Ed's mind that he barely even knew where to begin, so he spent a lot of class time sorting out his thoughts.

Though of course, Ed's inattentiveness didn't go unnoticed.

"Mr. Elric!"

He gave a sudden start at Professor McGonagall's commanding voice, his wand slipping out of his fingers and falling to the floor. Ed looked down at his wand on the floor before turning to face the professor. She was looming over him rather ominously, peering down at him from behind her rectangular glasses with a reproachful look on her face.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you kindly focus on the task at hand? You seem to be making no effort at all."

Ed frowned. How many times had he explained this to her? "Professor, I-"

"Everyone around you has already made at _least _two attempts, some with more success than others-" Her eyes flickered over at a Hufflepuff boy seated behind Ed, who had a living harp that could probably strum itself squirming on his desk. "-but _you _have yet to even begin the assignment."

His frown deepened. She wasn't going to listen. "Right. Sorry 'bout that."

He bent down to pick his wand up from the floor and then looked at the hedgehog in front of him. His frown deepened still. There was no way he could turn this innocent animal into a harp. It just wouldn't sit well on his conscience, no matter what everyone else said. Ed glanced back up at McGonagall. She hadn't moved. She was still hovering over him expectantly. He then heaved a deep sigh, knowing perfectly well that she wouldn't leave him alone until he did _something _to the hedgehog, and raised his wand.

Several people nearby turned their heads to watch. It would be the first time they saw him transfigure an animal. Ed looked around at them, rolled his eyes, and then finally gave his wand a quick flick. With a bright flash of light, the entire hedgehog immediately turned blue in color.

Professor McGonagall sighed in exasperation. A few of the students sitting around Ed began to laugh, only to be silenced by one of the professor's sharp looks. She then turned back to Ed, who was looking at the blue hedgehog as though he couldn't figure out what had happened to it. He then raised his head to look at Professor McGonagall and gave her a sheepish shrug.

"Oops."

Ed could feel a smirk bubbling just beneath the surface. Now that he knew where Draco disappeared to all the time, getting into trouble with the teachers held no power over him other than to be a nuisance and he didn't care if points got deducted from Slytherin. Before the Transfiguration professor could say anything, the bell sounded, signifying the end of the class period. McGonagall let out a defeated sigh and, as everyone got to their feet and gathered their things, announced that they could go. She gave Ed another stern look but chose to remain silent, pressing her lips together in a tight line as she walked back to her desk. Draco scowled slightly as he grabbed up his things and put his wand away, apparently not very pleased to see that Ed had escaped punishment. Ed couldn't help but grin smugly to himself as they left the classroom, Draco exiting ahead of him in a huff.

He wasn't looking forward to going to lunch. For the past week, it seemed like everyone wanted to talk about the extra Apparition practices that were going to be held in Hogsmeade over the weekend. Zabini and the others seemed especially keen to go and refused to stop pestering Ed about it. They probably already had a plan to drag him there, kicking and screaming, the same way they had for most of the lessons in the Great Hall. It was a discussion that Ed would do anything to miss out on. As if he didn't have enough on his mind already.

So when they got to the Great Hall, Ed immersed himself in his meal. Every time someone turned to talk to him about something, Ed made sure his mouth was full, rendering himself unable to respond. The chewing sounds also helped drown out their voices. Ed decided that this was a wise course of action, but he still wanted very much to leave. It wouldn't be too long before the Slytherins broke through his anti-Apparition discussion shield.

Eventually, Zabini resorted to prodding Ed in his side with a spoon while Ed tried to ignore him by slurping his pumpkin juice. Just as Ed thought he was really going to lose his temper and grind his auto-mail fist into Zabini's face, the tall Slytherin lucked out. Draco abruptly rose from his seat, consequently making everyone turn their attention toward him.

"Where are you off to, Malfoy?" questioned Nott, raising an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"Not like it's really any of your business, Nott," he snapped, narrowing his eyes at the weedy teen, "but I need to use the loo."

Crabbe and Goyle looked at one another and also rose to their feet as though they meant to follow him. But as soon as Draco noticed this, he redirected his angry glare on them.

"_Alone_."

Both boys looked rather dumbfounded, still standing in their seats as they watched Draco sweep away, muttering something maliciously under his breath as he did so. Ed narrowed his golden eyes at Draco's shrinking figure, raising his goblet of pumpkin juice to his lips to down what was left. He didn't like this. As far as Ed was concerned, the matter of Draco's bladder was an untrustworthy one. He'd already been fooled by this excuse twice and wasn't about to let it happen again.

Blaise suddenly let out a hearty laugh at the expense of Crabbe and Goyle. "You lot wanted to go with him to the bloody _loo_?! What are you, a pair of little girls?!"

Ed's pumpkin juice sprayed out of his mouth and across the table. The idiot duo each turned a deep shade of crimson. Zabini gave Ed a funny look, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What's with you?" Zabini asked him, confused.

The young blonde waved him off, trying desperately not to burst into laughter. "Nothing, i-it's nothing..."

He wiped the sides of his mouth on his sleeve, trying to hide the grin that had made its way onto his face. He was going to have to leave before Crabbe and Goyle each grew brains and figured out that Ed knew about them. Which was good. Leaving the Great Hall was good. He quickly reached across the table to grab another biscuit, biting down on his lower lip to keep himself from laughing.

"I better go," he managed to say. "I just remembered. Th-There's something I gotta take care of..."

He stuffed the biscuit into his mouth and quickly walked away, waving a brief goodbye to the other Slytherins as he made his way to the exit. Zabini called after him, possibly saying something about the Apparition practice in Hogsmeade. He thought he heard Pansy say something, too, but whatever it was, Ed didn't care. He swallowed his mouthful of biscuit, finally feeling his laughter subside, and focused his mind on his new task for the afternoon.

Ed stopped at the doorway to the Entrance Hall, looking about for signs of Draco. He could pretty much guess where the Slytherin was going, so he could probably beat him to his destination. Not to mention the fact that Al contacted him via magic mirror (which Ed always carried with him since their discovery at the magic wall) every time Draco or a sad-looking first year girl with scales in her arms appeared in front of the wall. But it was strange that neither one of the idiot duo hadn't been invited along this time. This was annoying to Ed in two different ways: one being the fact that there was now a chance Draco wasn't going to the magic wall today, which meant that Ed was going to have to follow him, and the other being that Ed's newly obtained research time had suddenly gotten cut into.

He decided he'd take the route to the magic wall, just in case the bathroom ploy was meant to throw him off Draco's trail. Sure enough, Draco seemed to be taking the same route, which lifted Ed's spirits slightly. If Draco wasgoing to the magic wall alone today, this gave Ed a chance to see how he got in and try it out himself. He couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of finally being able to catch Draco in the act and bust him big time for his evil plot.

He kept a safe distance from him as he followed, hugging the walls so that he would be able to hide quickly if the need arose. But Draco didn't seem concerned about whether or not someone saw him, so Ed never had to duck into hiding. Still, he maintained his safe distance, wondering all along why Draco had suddenly lowered his guard. It wasn't like him to do so.

When Ed reached the sixth floor, he halted in his tracks. He'd just barely caught a glimpse of Draco ducking into a bathroom. He blinked. Was he _actually _going to use the bathroom? Ed frowned. It was just his kind of luck that the one time he acted on the bathroom line had to be the one time it was actually true. He groaned, ruffled up his hair, and turned to leave when he realized something. They had to have passed at least half a dozen other bathrooms on their way up there. Ed spun back around slowly, narrowing his eyes.

_'What's so special about _this _one?'_

He started to walk toward the bathroom but stopped himself. He didn't know what Draco was doing in that room. For all he knew, it wasn't even an actual bathroom. Maybe it was actually a special, magical room that could transform itself and didn't even have toilets inside. Keeping this in mind, Ed stepped back and concealed himself behind one of the decorative suits of armor, checking it first to make sure it wasn't Al.

And then he waited. He couldn't do anything as long as Draco was inside that room. Ed liked to have more facts and puzzle pieces before forming any real theories. He didn't have much of anything to go with on this new occurrence. He had no real choice.

So he waited. And he slowly became increasingly annoyed as almost ten minutes went by without Draco coming back out. Ed had seated himself against the wall, his knees drawn up close to his chest and his arms folded on top of them. His hands had unconsciously curled around the fabric of his robes as he glared, irritated, at a spot on the floor a few feet away. Ed was sure now that he wasn't actually using the bathroom. There was simply no way that anyone could or _would_ sit on the toilet and do their business for that long.

Damn, he hated waiting.

By the time he'd made up his mind to storm into the bathroom, the door to it swung open and Draco emerged, running his hands over his platinum-blonde hair and smoothing down his black robes. Ed wasn't sure if he was relieved that he finally left or disappointed that he couldn't barge in on him. He held himself back a little bit longer, waiting until Draco descended the stairwell on the far end of the corridor. Then he walked down the hall to the same bathroom, his mind racing. Was this a real bathroom? What was Draco doing inside this room? Ed stopped outside of the door, glanced about him just to be sure that Draco was really gone, and then slipped inside.

He frowned slightly as the door swung shut behind him. It really was just an ordinary bathroom. He ran a hand through his hair, groaning. All the exposure to magic was frustrating. It was making him come up with weird theories about magically changing rooms. He then cast around the room again, searching for something that might be out of place. Magic or not, Draco must have been doing _something _unusual here, and he was determined to find out what.

He walked down the line of sinks slowly, examining each one carefully before moving on. So far, there was nothing unusual. Each sink was just as dirty as the last, none of them really standing out in any way. The mirrors were also somewhat grimy and flu-cracked, making it a bit difficult for Ed to see his own reflection staring back at him.

When he was done inspecting the sinks, he turned around to give the stalls the same treatment. He pushed open each door and examined the interiors before moving on to the next one (he was lucky that there was no one using any of the bathrooms just then). His frown deepened thoughtfully. So far, he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Maybe Draco had really just needed to use the bathroom.

He couldn't help but feel disappointed as he approached the last stall. He'd really been looking forward to finding something, though he didn't know what. Maybe he'd been hoping to find the book of poisons or some other shred of solid evidence that Draco had something to do with Ron's poisoning and Katie's curse. When he finally got to the last stall, Ed's eyes widened slightly.

There was nothing special about the stall, really. It was equally defaced as the others. But someone had plastered a sign on the door that read "Out of Order." Even more curious was the fact that it seemed to have been written by hand. Ed smirked slightly.

_'Could he have made this any easier for me?'_

He was about to lay his hands on the door and force it open when he stopped abruptly. This was unusually easy. Almost _too _easy. The possibility of a trap entered Ed's mind and he withdrew. He had to be careful about this. He pulled out his wand and kept it ready for use in case something popped out to attack him.

Ed quickly, silently cast _Alohamora_ and gave the door a ginger push so that it swung open slowly. Inside, sitting quietly on top of the toilet, was a small, shallow stone basin with runes and symbols carved around its edge. Ed blinked, surprised by its appearance, and then carefully examined the interior of the stall with his eyes, wand drawn as he checked for visible traps. When he found none, he took a careful step inside, then another, and another until he was finally standing right in front of the basin. He glanced about him again, not moving his head one way or the other. Still nothing. Ed put his wand away. It seemed like he was safe.

He peered inside of the stone basin and was confused by what he saw. There was a strange substance floating and swirling around inside of it. Ed wasn't sure if it was a liquid or a gas, but it was certainly unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Whatever it was, it looked like light made into a liquid. Or maybe it was wind made solid. Ed wasn't sure which. The surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind and then separated and swirled smoothly like clouds, moving constantly. Ed reached in, wanting to know what it felt like, the scientist in him needing to examine it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

Ed's head snapped right upwards to see who had spoken. He found himself face to face with a strangely transparent girl staring right through the thick lenses of her glasses at him. She had long, lank hair, her face was covered in pimples, and the lower half of her body was somewhere inside the wall. Startled, Ed gave a loud shout and jumped back, knocking into the stall door and slamming it shut. The entire stall shook with the force as he stared at the girl, his eyes wide.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The girl drifted out of the wall, swooping closer toward Ed. She gave him a contemptuous look, frowning deeply.

"Hmph! I wouldn't expect you to know me," she said in a huff. She then gave a sudden sob and floated higher up into the air as though she had taken offense to his question and meant to get farther away from him.

Ed blinked, the initial surprise beginning to wear off the longer he looked at the girl. She was a ghost, no doubt about that. An imprint of a departed soul left upon the earth. Ed was used to seeing ghosts by now, having lived in Hogwarts for almost eight months. But he had never seen this particular ghost wandering the halls before. As the shock finally ebbed away, Ed found himself left only with annoyance as he looked at this ghostly girl.

"Then care to tell me who you are, and... what you're doing in a _boys' _bathroom?"

The ghost whirled around to glare at Ed with another sob and sniffle. "I'm what they all call Moaning Myrtle," she told him, her voice a shrill whine. "Ugly, miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle!" She then raised her chin in the air, all traces of her indignant, offended tears suddenly gone. "As for what I'm doing here is of no concern to you."

Myrtle folded her arms across her chest and turned back around as though she now meant to ignore Ed's presence. The young alchemist rolled his eyes in annoyance as he straightened himself.

"Okay then, _Moaning Myrtle_," he muttered, stressing her nickname simply to irritate her. "Hang around the boys' bathroom all you want. I'll keep my mouth shut and won't bug you about it as long as you do the same for me. Equivalent exchange. Deal?"

Moaning Myrtle remained silent, but seeing as she made no movement to object, Ed took that as having an agreement with her. He then turned his attention back to the stone basin on the toilet and moved closer to it.

"I still wouldn't do that," came Myrtle's voice in a sing-song tone. She then said in a more stern voice, "Besides, that doesn't belong to you. You've no right to touch it."

Ed raised an eyebrow at it, now crouched on the floor in front of it and examining the runes carved into the sides. He thought he recognized a few of them, but the bowl was too old and defaced to make each individual one out. He frowned.

"What the hell _is _it?"

"Oh," Myrtle squeaked, sounding mildly amused, "never seen a Pensieve, have you?"

He turned slightly to look at the ghost, his eyebrows knitted together. "'Pensieve'?"

Moaning Myrtle had a small, mysterious smile on her face. She swooped back toward the stone basin so that her lower half was partway through the toilet and the wall.

"It belongs to the other boy, the handsome one. And those-" She gestured to the swirling substance drifting around inside the basin. "-are his memories."

Ed's eyes grew wide in wonder and surprise. He raised himself up slightly so that he could look at the silvery cloud-like wisps.

"His memories? So, what, he took them out of his head and put them into this 'Pensieve' thing?"

"If you want to look at it that way."

He quirked an eyebrow in amusement, an evil, mischievous glint in his golden eyes. "Reeeeally... Interesting..."

"But most people put their most horrible memories in," Moaning Myrtle went on, shuddering to give emphasis. "Their most painful ones..."

Ed wasn't really listening to the ghost anymore. Her voice had turned into a high pitched drone in the back of his mind. He pulled himself further off the ground so that he could stare deeper into the contents of the Pensieve, captivated.

"So... With this thing, I can see into his head. More or less, anyway..."

He extended one hand into the basin, his curious fingers aching to touch the mysterious substance, his mind determined to see the memories, wanting to know what was going on. With the Pensieve, Ed could finally know. His hand faltered slightly over the surface of the bowl, not sure how he would know what memory to look for or how to find what he wanted to know. After a moment, he pushed the doubt to one side and decided it didn't matter. He would just keep trying, again and again if he needed to. Trial and error was a valid scientific approach. Ed reached in.

"So I wouldn't touch it!" Moaning Myrtle cried, her voice very shrill.

Ed froze suddenly, his fingers hovering barely centimeters over the shimmery surface. The wispy, cloud-like substance started to swirl very fast beneath his fingers. He then turned to Myrtle, a wry grin across his face.

"Well, I wouldn't be in a boys' bathroom if I were a female ghost."

Myrtle looked horrified and offended at his comment as Ed turned back to the Pensieve. _'Besides,' _he thought, almost cheerfully, _'how bad could Draco Malfoy's memories be?'_

His fingers finally touched the swirling mists inside of the basin. Suddenly, there was a great tug at his arm, pulling Ed closer to the basin and consequently pitched him headfirst right into the substance inside basin. The floor beneath him gave an almighty lurch and, instead of smashing into the bottom of the basin and landing himself a broken nose as he would have expected, Ed was suddenly falling through something icy-cold and black. It felt like he was being sucked into a dark whirlpool.

Then all at once he found himself standing in the grass in a place engulfed in a thick layer of fog. He could vaguely make out the presence of large stone statues and markers jutting out of the wild, unkempt grass. But he still had no clue where he was or how he got there, only that the Pensieve had something to do with it. Ed glanced around cautiously, his hands balling into fists as he prepared himself for anything that might happen. He wouldn't be caught off guard.

It didn't take long for him to realize that no one was going to attack. If they were, they wouldn't be screaming so loudly.

Ed spun around on his heel, his eyes darting every which way to find the source of the pained howls. Within moments he pinpointed a light source nearby and moved closer, wanting to run but feeling wary of his surroundings and his situation. The fog seemed to thin as he approached and his footsteps slowed significantly when he saw what was going on.

A weedy-looking teenage boy was practically kneeling on the ground in front of a large stone monument of some kind, his face contorted in pain as he writhed and shouted and howled his complaint. A tall, pale man before him had seized him by his left arm with one hand. The other hand was driving the tip of a wand into the soft flesh between the teen's wrist and elbow. There was a hissing sound and the smell of burnt flesh as he did so.

There were other people there, standing around the figures in a large circle. They all wore huge black robes, their hoods pulled over their heads so that their faces were concealed in shadow. Everyone appeared to be watching the scene calmly, not one among them uttering a single word.

Ed was rooted to the spot, similarly to the others save for the fact that he was in the Hogwarts school robes and his eyes were wide in shock. He had no idea what was going on or why the pale figure with slits for a nose was using his wand to burn something into Theodore Nott's arm. Was it torture? Or was this some sort of cult ritual that Ed had stumbled upon by accident? If so, then why hadn't anyone shoved him away yet?

And he didn't know why, but he suddenly had a very powerful urge to try and help Nott. Ed had never particularly liked the Slytherin. In fact, he despised him. Even so, no one, not even someone as ruthless as Theodore Nott, deserved something so horrible. But Ed didn't know if he _should _help. Why wasn't anybody else doing anything?

At last, the tall man in the center of the circle thrust Nott's hand back at him, his skull white face impassive. The screaming finally stopped as Nott clutched his left arm to his chest almost possessively, sucking in air through his teeth at the still-burning pain.

The white fog thinned and Ed finally knew where he was: in the middle of a graveyard.

He looked around him and decided to try to ask the nearest black-robed figure what had just happened. But as he extended one hand to tap the person on the arm to catch their attention, his hand seemed to phase right through their body. Ed leapt back in alarm.

"What the hell...?"

"I must admit I'm very disappointed," said the pale man lazily, drawing Ed's attention toward him. He stepped away from Nott, a deep frown etched on his face. "I expected the son of Nott to be able to withstand the pain. Instead I'm presented with a weakling!"

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry, master... I was weak, forgive me..."

Nott then scrambled to his feet and hurried to fall into place with the rest black-robed figures. He looked up at one of them almost expectantly, but got no response. He then pulled his hood over his eyes so that he was lost among the others, gingerly rubbing his left forearm one last time. Ed watched him for a moment longer and then turned, golden eyes still wide, to look at the pale-faced man.

_'This guy... Is he...?'_

"Where," the man began, turning his scarlet-colored eyes slowly onto one of the figures standing near Ed, "is the son of Lucius? Bring him before me."

The cloaked figure to Ed's immediate right reached over to the one on his left, the robed arm phasing right through Ed's torso and soliciting a yelp of surprise from him. Ed quickly stepped away, not sure he could handle the idea of having people walk through him (or was he walking through them?), and resumed watching from his new spot. The figure on Ed's right gave the one to his left a slight nudge, though it was hardly necessary. As soon as the first person's hand touched the second figure's shoulder, he stepped forward, walking until he was standing exactly where Nott had just been, and then pulled back his hood.

Ed had already figured out that this one was Draco Malfoy, but he was surprised when he saw his face. This Draco's face was nothing like the pale, sickly one that Ed had grown accustomed to seeing over the past few months. He seemed to be brimming with health and vigor despite the anxious look that now glimmered in his silver eyes as he stood before the snake-like man atop the large gravesite.

And then everything came together at once in Ed's mind. Just as Myrtle said, this was a memory. This was one of _Draco's _memories. Which explained why Ed felt like a ghost and why nobody could sense his presence. Which meant that the tall, frighteningly pale man that everyone was looking at was...

"Ah... Young Draco Malfoy," the man said softly as he looked down at him, sounding almost pleased. He then turned his scarlet gaze to sweep over everyone that was gathered, gesturing toward Draco as though he were an exhibit on display. "Here we find the offspring of Lucius Malfoy, who failed me in his service and mission... and was locked away in Azkaban by those Ministry imbeciles."

Ed took a deep breath as he watched, his heart pounding in his ears. Until now he had only known the stories and rumors. But now he got to see him. Although it was through Draco's eyes, Ed now found himself staring right into the face of the dark wizard that so many feared. However he had pictured Voldemort to be in person, nothing could have ever prepared him for this.

_'So this is Voldemort.'_

A few people in the circle laughed softly. Draco drew in a sharp breath at the sudden change of tone in Voldemort's voice. The man swept around him, giving everyone a silencing look that even Ed couldn't resist shivering at as he returned to his place at the head of the large tombstone. He looked back down at Draco, regarding him, his face void of all emotion.

"However..." His icy gaze could have burned holes into Draco. "I suppose Lucius hasn't been _completely _useless to me in his final hours. He has, after all, provided me with the eternal service of his one and only heir in his place. His last chance at redemption into my circle..."

Another small round of laughter rippled through the circle of followers. Draco held his chin high, trying not to flinch as he looked at his father's master. Voldemort moved closer so that he was looming over Draco's head, glowering down at him through his pitiless eyes. He then bent slightly so that his snake-like face was level with Draco's.

"Let's hope you're not as pathetic as your father proved to be," he hissed softly.

Then Voldemort's arm suddenly shot forward in an instant, snatching up Draco's left forearm like a cobra and its prey and raising it higher so that the black sleeve rolled back. Ed jumped forward, breaking away from the circle of hooded onlookers. He had to do something. Draco was about to make one of the biggest mistakes he could ever make: submitting yourself wholly to the will of somebody else.

"STOP, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!! _STOP_!!"

But his voice went unheard by the shadows that stood before him. They were all just a part of Draco's memory. Nothing here could be changed - it was just a recording of something that had happened months ago. This happened before Ed had even entered the picture, long before he had even _heard _about Hogwarts and magic. Ed couldn't do anything but watch.

Voldemort reared his free arm back, long wand in hand, and stabbed the tip of it into Draco's exposed forearm in one liquid movement.

Draco winced, tightly clenching his jaw to hold in the pain. He didn't utter a single sound as Voldemort twisted his wand into his flesh, burning something onto its surface with a low, steaming hiss. For a brief moment Draco watched, but then averted his silver-eyed gaze to a spot somewhere past Voldemort's shoulder. He bit down on his lower lip so hard it seemed like it was going to bleed.

Several of the hooded figures in the circle bristled as they watched, apparently unable to believe that Draco was capable of dealing with the pain. Where Theodore Nott had been crying and screaming just moments before, Draco Malfoy was silent. Ed could hear a few of them murmuring amongst themselves, impressed and shocked by the way he endured the pain that had made nearly all of the adults cry out.

Ed twitched at the familiarity. He could hear a distant voice saying the very same thing about him. One hand moved to wrap about his auto-mail. No, enduring the pain hadn't been easy...

Black markings swirled across Draco's skin like ink, searching for the right patterns to set into with a hissing noise. Then it finally twisted into the proper form: a skull with a long snake weaving its way out of the mouth, twisting intricately within itself. Burned into Draco's flesh. A permanent, magical tattoo that was to exist as a constant reminder that his own will didn't matter anymore.

Eventually, Voldemort released him, uncurling his long, pale fingers from around Draco's wrist and withdrawing his wand. He stepped back, what appeared to be a pleased smile on his lipless face. His red eyes glimmered with satisfaction as he looked at Draco.

"Impressive, young Malfoy," he said softly. "_Very _impressive. It seems that I can entrust this task to you after all..."

Anxiety rippled through the circle, all of them breaking out into hushed, surprised murmurs. They were silenced again when Voldemort raised his eyes to glare at them all, fingering the handle of his wand as though he was waiting for someone to step a fraction out of line, eager to hex them... Maybe even kill them on the spot. He then looked back down at Draco, his cruel, lipless smile back in place.

"Being a student in Dumbledore's school... How do you find it? Finding yourself under the Muggle-loving old man... But, as a bonus, you are much closer to him than any of us-" He gestured vaguely around at the people in the circle. "-can possibly hope to get. He has such great protection around that old castle, a great concentration of magical barriers and charms... It's despicable to find that even _I _must admit it difficult to break through. I cannot find large enough holes in the defenses for my Death Eaters... We cannot get close enough to the place to look for them, either... Which is where _you _would come in. I need you to find us passage inside that Muggle-ridden castle-"

"Master, please!" someone cried out, taking a step forward. "Bestow this such honor on _my _son, surely he is more capable than Lucius' boy-"

Voldemort's red eyes flashed in rage and he flicked his wand toward the man who had interrupted him. "_Crucio_!"

Ed's eyes grew impossibly wide as he watched a jet of green light streak from Voldemort's wand to the man's body. He was flung back onto the ground and he laid there, writhing and screaming, his hands clutching at the damp grass and at his chest as though he were trying to tear off his skin to escape the pain. No one moved. They only turned their heads to watch, calm and cool as though the sight of this man's torture was the most normal thing in the world to them.

But it was the first time Edward had ever seen an Unforgivable Curse. His insides twisted uncomfortably and he looked away.

"You _dare _to oppose me, to question my decision?!" Voldemort hissed, the slits of his nose flaring. "You will do _nothing _unless I order it of you!"

He finally withdrew his wand and stopped the curse, leaving the man breathless and twitching on the ground. All heads turned back to look at him and Draco, who was still looking nervously at the victim of Voldemort's hex. He then quickly looked away, completely wiping the expression from his face as Voldemort continued to speak.

"Do you dare to think I've not asked this task of others before? Those more worthy and capable? Severus has been within the walls of that castle since the beginning, since my downfall, gathering information in preparation for my return. His service to me has been invaluable and yet, his act of loyalty to Dumbledore bears down on his eternal duty to me - Even now he is absent from this gathering! I tire of the longevity of this task, simple enough it may be... I grow impatient. I grow weary of waiting to hear from him, so I choose to send in another."

Here Voldemort paused to sweep his icy stare over the faces of his followers. Then he slowly turned to place it on Draco's face.

"Perhaps this youth, this vitality, this... desire to prove his worth will be enough to speed up the process. Dumbledore's eyes will not be focused on you, young Draco. The old man is much too preoccupied with his Chosen One to focus on watching your every move. He has been a great threat, a terrible thorn in my side... but he grows senile in his old age. Now is the chance to strike. You, being among his students, will be able to do this yourself... Surely you know the right course of action to take by now."

Draco's silver eyes grew fractionally wider in shock, but he said nothing.

"Should you succeed, I will make you a proper Death Eater. To receive such a reward... You will restore pride, glory, and honor to your noble family yet... But should you fail me..."

He raised his wand and gave it a quick flick. What looked like some sort of large crystal ball manifested itself between them, hovering in the air. Ed moved forward to get a better look. Inside the crystal ball amidst swirls of what seemed to be purple smoke were moving images of people, screaming audibly from a horrific, unimaginable pain. Ed recognized those people. They were the members of the Malfoy family, all of them being tortured into madness and then, as he watched longer, being killed.

"The Malfoy family will cease to be. Including your mother." Voldemort kept his cold gaze on Draco steady, watching his reaction to what he had just been seen. "Do you understand, young Malfoy heir? The fate of your family hangs in the balance. Don't think I won't hesitate to kill any of you."

The Malfoy heir's face was pale in fear as he was rendered unable to tear his eyes away from the horrible image being shown to him. Then slowly, Draco nodded his head in confirmation, his right hand moving unconsciously to grip his left forearm.

"Yes... I understand... I'll do as you ask... Master."

Voldemort smiled maliciously, waving his wand to make the crystal ball dissipate into tendrils of smoke. "Remember, then, what you must do the night you return to me, victorious in your task. When your true initiation will take place..."

And with that, more of Voldemort's so-called Death Eaters approached, dragging a young woman along behind them. Everyone turned around to welcome them into the circle, making room for them to bring forth the woman they had brought along. They thrust her to the ground near Draco and Voldemort's feet and she collapsed in a broken, beaten heap. Her fingers clutched helplessly at the blades of grass and she slowly raised her eyes, her face shining with tears.

"Please," she whispered, her voice racked with terrified sobs. "Please, no..."

Draco drew in a breath as he looked at her, trying to keep his face smooth. Voldemort pulled him aside so that he could bring himself before the woman, smirking wickedly.

"A filthy Mudblood, Draco," he said with a soft chuckle. "The night of your initiation, we will bring one before you, just like this one. No doubt you know by now what is to be done to those with filth in their veins... If not, I shall demonstrate..."

Ed felt his stomach twist into tight knots as Voldemort raised his wand, his eyes becoming wide and his nostril slits flaring in excitement. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain what he was going to do to the poor woman. She hadn't done anything to anyone. She'd committed no wrong to Voldemort... except to offend him with her mere existence.

"No," Ed whispered desperately. "No, don't... Don't..."

"No," the woman sobbed, echoing Ed's unheard voice. "No, don't... Don't... Please stop, I beg... Please..."

But what did Voldemort care for either of their pleas? He readied his wand in his hand. The woman suddenly turned her panic-stricken gaze on Draco, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Please..."

Draco's eyes became wider in his head and he took a step backward, away from the woman's extended hand, pulling himself farther out of her reach.

"_Crucio_!"

The graveyard was suddenly filled with the woman's pained shrieks, so loud that Ed was sure someone would come to investigate. Local policemen, maybe, or even just somebody who lived nearby... But Ed realized that it would be no use against Voldemort's lethal nature. People were nothing to him, their lives meant nothing. Against that damn magic wand and his damn Unforgivable Curses, there was no help to be found.

And Ed had a front row seat to watching the Cruciatus Curse. The first time Voldemort had done it to that Death Eater, the black robes and the hood had concealed his face. But Ed could see this woman's face and it terrified him beyond belief. Her eyes were trying to roll into the back of her head, eyelids fluttering wildly. The expression on her face was contorted into simple, purest agony as she rolled around, body twisting, back arching, legs kicking at the ground as though she were trying to get away. Or like she was about to implode. Both were entirely probable.

All Ed could do was watch, his stomach twisting and lurching sickeningly in his gut. His hands were trembling at his sides and his heart was pounding in his chest so hard and fast that the rush of blood was almost too much. He felt rather lightheaded. He thought he was going to puke.

"Stop it... _Stop_..."

The woman writhed, curling up into a ball and then stretching out again. The torture seemed to be going on forever. Ed looked around at the onlookers, searching and hoping that there was one sane person among them that was going to step forward and stop Voldemort. No one moved a muscle. Could nobody but Edward hear the unimaginable pain in her voice?

He couldn't do anything, and the people who could weren't going to. Ed grabbed his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to see this anymore. How did he make the memory stop playing once it had started? How the hell was he going to get out of this damn Pensieve thing?!

The screaming finally stopped, replaced with the sound of someone's shrill, malicious laughter. Ed shuddered at the sound of it, carefully reopening his eyes to see what was happening now. The woman was still lying on the ground, her limbs twitching involuntarily. She couldn't seem to keep her gaze straight, her eyes constantly trying to roll back up into her head as she twisted herself around to look at Voldemort and Draco. She gasped for air, only to find herself choking on it for a moment.

Voldemort seemed vaguely amused. "Shall I end her torment, young Malfoy?"

Ed finally turned to look over at Draco. The teen's face was deathly white as he looked, stricken, at the broken woman lying on the ground before him. His breath seemed to be coming in ragged gasps and his body was trembling slightly. For some reason he couldn't avert his eyes from the woman's, though it seemed obvious that he desperately wanted to.

He never answered Voldemort's question. But it didn't matter. The dark lord wasn't waiting for him to. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

The witch's entire body was engulfed in the green light and for the briefest of moments her entire body tensed up, rigid as a board. Then she went limp, sagging back into her uncomfortable position on the ground. Her eyes were glazed over with the shadow of death, but remained fixated on Draco's face. They still glistened with pleading tears. Draco took another step back, clenching his jaw tightly, still unable to tear his eyes away.

Voldemort laughed again, the horrible, shrill sound of it making Ed shudder in disgust. "It really is amazingly simple, Draco, to steal away another's life... Not that the life of a Mudblood amounts to much, in the grand scheme of things. Really, using the Killing Curse on them actually does them a favor, it does the _world _a favor... We are purging the world of its filth."

Draco remained silent and frozen, still transfixed by the death in the woman's face. Ed couldn't look at the dead woman any longer. He was glaring at Voldemort, his jaw clenched and his hands balled into tight fists, growing more and more furious. He wanted nothing more than to punch this Voldemort bastard right in the nose. But in this memory Ed could throw as many punches as he wanted; not a single one of them would hit and would only serve to fuel Ed's frustration.

He had to get out of the Pensieve. This wasn't helping him any. He couldn't do anything here, and Ed hated feeling useless.

"However," Voldemort continued, "should you succeed in your task, I'll have to reward you with the life of a special Mudblood... You'll practically be bringing me the heads of all my enemies at once, after all, won't you? Of course, Harry will be executed in a special manner, I'll be taking care of him myself. But to deliver several emotional blows to him would make it all so much sweeter... By the end of it he'll be _begging _me to kill him. Ah... Music to my ears..."

The bastard laughed again and it was echoed by his Death Eaters. Draco and Ed were the only ones who looked less than pleased. Voldemort took no notice as he laid one pale, long-fingered hand on Draco's shoulder, looking down at him with a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Perhaps the deaths of those _dear _friends of his... That blood traitor... and, of course, the Mudblood... What was her name? Ah, yes, Hermione Granger... Yes, she would make a fine initiation killing for you, young Malfoy."

And immediately both boys were shocked. Draco's eyes grew still wider and he was finally able to look away from the face of the dead woman at his feet in favor of looking up at his new master. Ed's rage was suddenly swept away, replaced instead by an intense fear. He wasn't sure who he was more scared for, however: Hermione, whose life was hanging delicately in the balance, or Draco, who would lose everything he held dear no matter what he chose to do.

"Make her beg for her life," Voldemort told Draco softly, smiling. "Her sanity will be long gone before we're through with her... No doubt Harry will soon follow..."

The snake-faced wizard continued to speak of his plot to use Harry's friends as a way to get to him, to emotionally torture him into the black abyss of madness. But Ed refused to listen, clapping his hands over his head and wishing desperately to escape Draco's memory. He was frightened and confused and angry and there was no worse mix of emotions to have at one time in Ed's opinion.

Thankfully, some higher power seemed to have read his mind. Everything was suddenly covered in a dense white fog. All of the black-robed figures before him, including Draco, Voldemort, and the dead Muggle-born witch, turned to smoke and diminished. Ed was left in a world of swirling white and gray clouds. And soon enough, the floor seemed to jolt under his feet and he found himself tossed up into the air. He gave out a yell of shock when he never felt gravity pull him back down to the earth and continued to soar through the air.

Then he was back in the boys' bathroom, facing the door of a defaced bathroom stall. Needless to say, Ed was shocked and disoriented by the sudden change of setting. For a moment he couldn't bring himself to do anything but stand there, his chest heaving and beads of cold sweat rolling down the side of his face.

"Told you, didn't I?"

A girl's voice. At first, he didn't realize that somebody was addressing him and remained quite still, uncertain as to what he should do now. The girl continued.

"No one really likes what they see in other people's minds."

And his bearings came back to him in a wild rush. Ed took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face Moaning Myrtle, who was hovering a few inches over the toilet in a sitting position and shaking her head at him. He just looked at her for a moment, his eyes wide. Free from the pained screaming and the horrifically calm, cool voice of Voldemort, Ed's mind briefly dredged up his own dark, secretive past.

"Yeah," he murmured softly, dropping his gaze as he wiped some of the sweat from his face. "Yeah, I guess I... I should've known..."

Myrtle gave Ed an indignant glare. "Well, you did know! I guess it would be too much to expect someone like you would listen to me!"

He didn't notice. His gaze had become locked on the Pensieve where it still sat as though nothing had happened, looking completely innocent, betraying the horrors that Ed now knew were concealed inside it. He backed away slowly, opening the stall door so he could get away from it. He shut the door behind him and locked it, just about to turn and exit the bathroom. But he stopped there, overwhelmed by his newly gained knowledge. With a small, tired sigh, Ed pressed his forehead to the stall door and lay still for a moment, trying to rationally sort things out.

It was difficult. An innocent woman had been tortured and killed on the spot, and not a single soul had moved to help her... Ed couldn't stop the swell of emotions that welled up within him as he thought back on it all. Rationality was impossible to achieve.

Worst of all, Ed felt like he could understand how Draco felt. A vague memory that Ed usually considered unimportant began to play like a movie reel in his mind's eye. A folder and silver pocket watch were being handed to him from across a desk. Large golden eyes rose to meet with charcoal black, and a voice that Ed had learned to loathe began to speak...

_"Congratulations. You are now officially a dog of the military."_

The Fullmetal Alchemist.

_'A fucking dog of the military.' _Ed banged his head on the door, making all of the stalls rattle. _'And now Malfoy's the same... Just like me...'_

"Tsk tsk," scorned Moaning Myrtle, her face emerging from the stall door to peer into Ed's face. "Serves you right."

Ed's blank gaze shifted slightly so that it focused on Myrtle. He frowned deeply at her. He then pulled himself back up and started to walk away, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She didn't know the half of it.

"Oh, and one more thing before you go."

"What?" he barked, spinning back around as his mood swung into mild irritation.

Myrtle smiled slightly and glided through the air toward Ed, only to withdraw again with a slight giggle. "The boy that was in here before, the one with blonde hair and silver eyes... If you see him, let him know he can have a bath in here anytime he wants."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Moaning Myrtle is weird. But I shall tolerate her for now, because she's not making any weird moves on Ed. :P

anyways, I had absolutely no idea what students do in NEWT level Transfiguration, so I just made something up. it seems to me like Transfiguring hedgehogs into harps might be a younger year thing, but I couldn't quite remember and I was tired, so I just... left it. besides, I like Sonic the Hedgehog.

oh, something to note: Voldemort. that guy is _crazy_. I want to make it clear that this flashback means that Draco is _not yet a Death Eater_. He's an unofficial one, I guess we could say. Which means he's well on his way, teetering on the brink of conversion, but he has yet to fall in. um... yeah.

so I hope people liked this chapter all the same. With any luck, the next update should only take about 2 weeks, hopefully less, as opposed to the 3-4 week waits that you have all had to endure lately. Apologies again, thanks very much for the patience. Please leave a review on your way out! Reviews make my heart flutter with joy. Food for the writer's soul. Tasty or bitter, we eat them all :P


	30. Friction and Conflict

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **hello, all. did you miss me? ;) haha, sorry, being weird again. anyways, I'm back, having finally broken free of a piece of writer's block! I see a little more to come, but hopefully it won't be anywhere near as bad as the one I just recovered from.

thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Mjade and I appreciate them a lot. :D reviews are like little shimmers of love and kindness. food for our souls! (I didn't coin that, someone else did. can't remember who, unfortunately, but I know that it's someone here at FanFic :P) and, to answer EagleBlaze (since it was an anonymous review), our interpretation of the Dark Mark is a little different. since it's a way for Voldemort to keep track of his followers, he put it on Draco to make sure that he obeys and succeeds in his task. he's still not an official Death Eater, but the Dark Mark will serve as a reminder of how he's supposed to be one of the Dark Lord's little drones now and he doesn't have the right to free will anymore. it marks the beginning of his Death Eater initiation, really. the beginning of the end of life as he knows it... (pum pum puhhh...)

by the way, I didn't mean to compare Mustang to Voldemort, it was more just a comparison of situation. and besides, it's more like King Bradley is like Voldemort, they're the leaders of the bunch. XD and, if you have read as far into the FMA manga as I have, you'll find that comparison to be entirely plausible...

anyways, I graciously accept the cyber cookies and I must thank you all, once again, for reading this far into the story. I'm honored to be able to give you guys an enjoyable story like the ones I have been so priviliged to be able to read. I am _so _excited to be able to present to you another chapter! (oh wow, why the hell do I sound like I'm accepting an award?? okay, stopping that now, and moving right along...) so here it is!!

* * *

**Chapter 30**  
**Friction and Conflict**

Edward stopped sending reports to Mustang. He had once sent them in the biweekly frequency that had been demanded of him (even though they had been getting shorter and shorter), but Ed's latest discoveries - immensely relevant to his mission as they were - were far too involved to be reported. It would just complicate things unnecessarily if any of this information was reported to a third party and wouldn't do anybody any favors. It may just get Draco, his family, and countless other innocents killed at Voldemort's hands sooner than could be dealt with at that point in time and possibly create hostilities between the Wizarding community and Amestris. And none of them needed any more wars to fight.

It was also too personal and obviously very sensitive to Draco. Ed hadn't forgotten the haunted look on Draco's face when he saw the witch die before his very eyes. Nor had he forgotten the fact that Draco was completely trapped; whether or not he obeyed Voldemort, somebody he cared for was going to be killed. It was just a matter of who he chose.

His mind kept wandering back to a certain letter still safely tucked away inside Ed's trunk...

No. Ed would take care of this himself. Though this firm decision still left him unsure of how exactly he would do that. Helping Draco accomplish his task was completely out of the question as it went against Ed's beliefs and mission and paved a clear path for Voldemort and his plans of mass genocide. On the other hand, stopping him meant the death of him and his entire family, possible exposure of Ed's true identity and purpose, and would also inevitably lead to a massacre.

The well-being of Hermione Granger and Narcissa Malfoy now found itself among Ed's list of top priority concerns. As such, the very last letter he'd chosen to send to Mustang included the words "Look out for Lady Malfoy," and also assured an increase of the frequency in which Ed convened with Al.

Along with his final note, Ed told Eule to roost closer to Mustang since he probably wasn't going to send anything out of Hogwarts anymore. Mustang was obviously less than pleased to find out about all this. Everyday for the first week since Ed's final report he sent Eule back to Ed. She came with notes demanding an explanation and for the Fullmetal Alchemist to comply with the orders of his superior lest the military find out about his well-kept secrets. Edward probably only opened the first few. After that, he promptly tore them apart upon arrival and made Eule go back to Mustang empty handed. He knew the colonel's threats were empty; after all, both he and Al were in Hogwarts and couldn't be dragged away for alchemic research without making a scene. And besides, even if the colonel did go through with them, Ed himself had some dirt on the bastard and always had the option of threatening back.

The Slytherins naturally questioned Ed's strange treatment of his incoming mail, but he never told them anything. He kept up the facade of a particularly rotten mood, giving them lame excuses for it such as nightmares, disagreeable weather, and school-related stress. He just really needed to be left alone. He had _a lot _to think about.

On top of finding a way of helping Draco with his dilemma, Ed still had to gain the Slytherin's trust, get through the damn magic wall, and find out exactly what he was planning. Until then, he also felt obligated to protect the other residents of Hogwarts, particularly Hermione and the headmaster. Ideally he'd find a way to help Draco out of his tight situation first. Then there were also his original plans of studying magic to satisfy his curiosity and to find a way to restore him and his brother. And of course, there was the more menial task of maintaining his appearance as a normal Hogwarts student that knew nothing outside of his own schoolwork.

It was quite the mental overload, even for someone as brilliant as Edward Elric.

And Alphonse could tell. Even though Ed had never went out and directly told Al everything he knew to that point, as usual, the younger Elric could sense it. He just knew his older brother too well for these things to remain secret for long.

They were in the middle of one of their early morning sparring matches when Al decided to bring it up. Though Al wasn't sure he could truly count it as a sparring match. Edward's mind was somewhere else and the punches he threw were slow and half-hearted. Al found that many of their spars had been that way recently; either Ed's movements were sluggish and his mind was gone, or he was more vicious than usual. Al easily dodged Ed's last punch and immediately grabbed his wrist, holding him securely in place.

The glaze over Ed's eyes vanished in his surprise. "Al, what're you-"

"Are you okay, nii-san?"

He blinked. "Huh? Of course I am. Why?"

"You seem distracted. Again."

Ed stared wide-eyed into Al's face. "Whaddaya mean _'again'_?"

"You know what I mean. You've been acting funny lately."

"Oh..." There was a pause. Ed dropped his gaze. "Sorry."

"What's going on?"

The elder brother didn't answer, staring intently at a spot on the stretch of wall behind Al. Al sighed, exasperated.

"Whatever it is, you know you can tell me... What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Al. It's nothing."

"It's _not _nothing," Alphonse insisted, "I know it's not, so tell me!"

A deep, annoyed frown formed on Ed's face and he tried to wrench his arm away. "I _am _telling you, it's nothing!"

"Don't lie to me! You haven't been yourself lately and-"

"You're imagining things, Al!"

"-if something's wrong-"

"Nothing's wrong!"

"-you _know _you can always tell me!"

"Just drop it, okay?! Nothing happened! Nothing's wrong!"

"_Nii-san_-"

"I SAID _DROP IT_!"

His golden eyes flashed furiously and Al was taken aback, finally relinquishing his hold on Ed's wrist. He took several steps backward, keeping his gaze fixated on his older brother. Edward was shaking slightly as he stepped away, though he himself wasn't sure why. He took in several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, but his frustration seemed to be too much. Al stared at him, shocked.

"Why...?"

Instantly, Ed was consumed by a powerful feeling of guilt. Ed hated keeping things from his younger brother, but he had no choice. Part of him wanted to tell Al everything. He wanted a new, outsider perspective on things because there was a chance that he was blowing the whole thing out of proportion. But he couldn't, even though Al wasthe one person Ed knew he could trust with his life. He took another deep breath, hoping that this time he would be able to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry, Al... But look, really, it's..."

"It's what? Tell me!"

He took in another deep breath and looked away. "I... I _can't_. It's not my business to tell."

"Since when did it ever matter to you whether it was your business or not?"

Ed turned back to look at Alphonse in shock. "What?! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nii-san, you're pretty well known for getting involved in things that you-"

Al stopped short, realization dawning on him. He could only continue to look at Edward, growing increasingly worried. Ed's eyes grew slightly wider as he realized that Al had figured something out and quickly looked away again, not wanting to give anything else away.

"Does this... It's something about... about Miss Hermione, isn't it?"

Ed didn't respond. He avoided Al's gaze, staring down into his right hand and flexing his auto-mail fingers like he thought it had malfunctioned. Eventually, Al bowed his head so that he was looking at the blades of grass beneath his feet.

"So... I can't help..."

Al's tone of voice was riddled with disappointment. Ed refused to raise his head, not daring to reveal the worried expression on his face. He remained quiet for another moment, trying to figure out what the best thing to say would be.

_'No, Al, you can't. There's too much at risk. I can't let you get caught up in this. You know too much as it is. I'm already too involved and I'm not even supposed to be. It's too personal to Malfoy...'_

But the words never found their way out of Ed's mouth. It felt like he would be violating some unspoken rule if he told anyone anything. Instead, his eyes slowly rolled to the side so that he was looking at a brightening patch of sunlight on a different area of the courtyard they'd been sparring in.

"Sun's coming up," he muttered, turning to leave. "Everyone'll be waking up soon, so we'd better get going. I've got class, and you..."

Ed heaved a sigh, still able to feel Al's gaze on him, watching his every movement. He tried to wipe his face of all expression as he slowly turned to face him, but failed miserably. His feelings leaked into his voice when he opened his mouth to speak again.

"Be careful, Al."

The younger Elric was quiet for a moment, then finally nodded. "Okay. You too, nii-san."

Without looking back up at him, Ed also nodded and went back inside the castle.

* * *

To say that Al had been utterly confused about what had happened that morning wouldn't do the matter justice. Not only was Al mystified and at a loss for what to do next, but he was also frustrated and hurt. The Elric brothers always told each other everything, even if it didn't concern the other in any way, so Ed's silence was highly unnerving to Al. But since Ed had chosen to pretend the argument never happened, Alphonse decided that it was probably for the best and wisely chose not to press the issue. Still, the fact was difficult to get over. 

Soon enough, April began to draw to a close, though the signs of approaching summer did little to improve Ed's mood. He'd made practically no progress whatsoever in all of the things he'd been trying to accomplish for the past few weeks, and it was getting on his nerves. Proper concentration had been near impossible to achieve; Hogwarts was always full of things to distract the mind, which was one thing that Ed both loved and hated about the school. One of those things was the Apparition testing. Lessons had finally come to an end and the upcoming testing in Hogsmeade had become the most popular topic of conversation amongst the sixth and seventh years. The only exception within the entire student body was Edward Elric.

The Slytherins intended to fix that.

When lunch was over, Zabini chased after Ed in the hallway with one of the Crabbe/Goyles behind him. He marched right up to him and quickly snatched away the copy of the _Daily Prophet _that was in his hands. Ed halted and looked up at once, frowning in annoyance.

"Hey! What the hell, I was readi-"

Before he could finish speaking, a brochure was suddenly thrust under his nose. Ed blinked in surprise, refocusing his eyes so that he could see what was in front of him. He scowled as he read the words written across the cover: _Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them_.

"You gotta be kidding me."

He shifted his gaze so he was looking at Zabini, whose features had hardened determinedly as he looked at him. "Read it. Testing's in less than-"

"A screw must've come loose in that head of yours, Zabini," Ed muttered, annoyed, "'cause otherwise you would've remembered I already said I'm not going."

Zabini ignored him, waving the brochure insistently in Ed's face. "Testing's in less than two hours, Elric, and-"

"Would you give it up already?" Ed snapped, slapping the brochure away and making a reach for the newspaper. "I'll give you points for tenacity, but aren't you sick and tired of hearing the word 'no' a million times over by now?"

Crabbe/Goyle looked slightly dazed. He leaned a bit closer to Zabini and Ed heard him murmur, "What's tenacity mean?"

Blaise continued to pretend to be deaf and chose not to answer either one of the questions that had just been thrown at him. He kept the paper as far away from Ed's significantly shorter limbs as possible and kept talking.

"You're coming down to Hogsmeade with us whether you like it or not."

The frown on Ed's face deepened. "Do I have to get creative with my refusals here?"

"We can drag you, you realize," Blaise went on. Crabbe/Goyle cracked his knuckles threateningly, as though on cue. "We can carry you down there, Elric."

Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. "So I'm guessing brute force will work on you better." And he raised one clenched fist for Crabbe/Goyle to see.

"You're _still _at it?" drawled a familiar voice, interrupting the argument.

Zabini, Crabbe/Goyle, and Ed all turned to face Draco and the other Crabbe/Goyle as they approached, walking casually down the hallway. The white-blonde eyed the three Slytherins before him, an exhausted-looking frown on his face.

"Still not sick of having the same conversation over and over again, Zabini?"

"That's what _I _said," Ed muttered, turning back around to glare at Zabini. "Nice to know that _somebody's _been paying attention."

Blaise frowned. "Malfoy, you're just upset you're not old enough to take the test just yet."

Draco rolled his eyes as he and Crabbe/Goyle came to a stop a few feet away from them. "Please. It's not as though the testing in Hogsmeade's my one and only chance."

"Besides," said one of the Crabbe/Goyles, "we're busy with other things."

At once, the other Crabbe/Goyle jabbed an elbow into his gut, hissing dangerously into his ear. Draco looked over and shot him a quick, angry look. Ed's eyes flicked over to look at them, then over at Zabini to see if the black boy had noticed. Of course he had. Ed knew that Blaise wasn't _that _stupid. He would have had to be as bad as Crabbe and Goyle if he hadn't.

Zabini's eyebrows arched upward in surprise, constantly switching his gaze from one Crabbe/Goyle to the other. "What other things?"

"Other things like watching out for our own hides," Ed said quickly, snatching his copy of the _Daily Prophet _back from Zabini. "You don't pay attention to anything, do you?"

"What are you on about?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ed could see Crabbe and Goyle looking completely dumbfounded and Draco narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He ignored it for now and flipped through the newspaper to the obituary section. He held it out for Zabini and pointed at the pages vigorously, like he was teaching a three-year-old that the square block couldn't fit through the circular hole.

"Y'see that, Zabini? People are being attacked left and right," Ed told him, his tone of voice grave and solemn. "Relatives of students here at Hogwarts. Getting killed. Attacked by werewolves and Death Eaters. And don't forget that both Katie Bell and Ron Weasley almost died." He stole a quick glance in Draco's direction. "Those didn't look like accidents to me. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an attack at Hogsmeade while you're all there. This doesn't exactly strike me as a time to be more concerned with 'destination, determination, and deliberation'."

Zabini paled slightly at Ed's words. Ed couldn't help but feel pleased. It wasn't as though he had lied; he'd been hearing and reading about all the horrible attacks that were undoubtedly Voldemort's work. But he was perfectly aware, thanks to Draco's memory in his Pensieve, that the snake-nosed bastard couldn't get anywhere near Hogwarts. At least not without Draco's help. He stole another glance in the Malfoy heir's direction and saw a strange, conflicting look in his silver eyes, like he had no idea what to think of the small blonde now.

"Blimey," Zabini breathed as he read one of the shorter articles, his eyes wide.

Suddenly feeling extremely cheerful, Ed quickly folded the newspaper up and tucked it under one arm. He smiled and good-naturedly slapped Zabini on the back.

"That said, good luck on your testing!"

The tall Slytherin let out a pathetic sound of some kind, which served only to lift Ed's spirits higher. _'What a quick learner!'_

"Did you hear?!" squealed a female voice from the direction of the Great Hall, getting louder and louder. "Ooh, did you hear?!"

_'Aw, shit.' _Ed's spirits plummeted at once. He thought he'd finally cleansed himself of Pansy Parkinson's presence.

Pansy made a mad dash for Draco, once again throwing herself on him (much to his disdain) in an excited manner. "You wouldn't _believe _what I've just witnessed!"

Ed turned and started to walk away, shaking his head. "Here we go..."

"More gossip, Pans?" drawled Draco, prying himself away from her.

"This is not gossip!" Pansy scoffed, consenting to simply lock her arm with Draco's as they walked. "What I'm about to tell you is fact!"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Zabini, recovering from his state of shock. "Because with you, Pansy, we can rely on the straight and honest truth."

Pansy shot an angry glare at Zabini, then threw her chin into the air and ignored him. She turned back to Draco, despite the fact that it didn't look like he was listening at all. The Crabbe/Goyles, on the other hand, seemed to be listening quite intently (though no one could really say why).

"Lavender Brown - you know that Gryffindor than hangs out with the Patil twins?" No one responded. Pansy continued anyway. "You know she's been dating Weasley, right? Well, let's just say she's caught him and Lovegood in a rather 'compromising' situation."

Ed raised his eyebrows. _'Ron and Luna...? Didn't see _that _coming...'_

She laughed sardonically. "The Mudblood-lover Weasel and Looney Lovegood! In my opinion, they'd be perfect for each other!"

Draco just rolled his eyes in a nonchalant "why the hell are you telling me this?" manner and kept walking. Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem to have any idea why Pansy was so excited and exchanged identical blank looks. On the other hand, Zabini seemed to have come back to life, a mischievous smile on his face and a hungry glint in his eyes.

"Hmm... Brown needs a shoulder to cry on, eh? I'm all ears, Pansy! Where are they at now?" A wolfish grin made its way onto Zabini's face. "I could get lucky."

Pansy gave Zabini a horrified look that seemed to very clearly say "but she's a Gryffindor!" Draco still looked bored with the situation, since it was of no concern or consequence to him. Ed glanced back at both Zabini and Pansy, then turned back, rolling his eyes.

"I doubt the last place Lavender Brown would want to be is with a sex-obsessed maniac like you, Zabini."

"What?" Blaise put on his most innocent looking face, but it didn't last long. It quickly gave way for the look he got when he was thinking about women. "Waste not, want not. Isn't that right, Elric?"

Ed slowly turned around, his brow furrowed. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

Blaise smirked slightly. "You were the one who introduced us to the wonderful world of foxy Gryffindor girls, remember? Who am I to let this one go to waste?"

Pansy directed her angry, disdainful look toward Edward. "Eddy, how _could _you! Letting Blaise associate with that - those - such _filth_!"

"Hey." Zabini clasped one hand over his heart, acting as though Pansy's comment had deeply offended him. "I, for one, am grateful to the little bloke." He turned to give Ed an appreciative nod.

A vein was throbbing somewhere on Ed's forehead. As if he wasn't already frustrated enough with his life, these two had to come in and annoy him and push him to his limit. Well, this was it. Suddenly, it was all he could take. He suddenly found himself at his breaking point, all because of an idiotic, sex-obsessed maniac and an annoying, pug-nosed girl.

_'They're not worth it,' _he told himself sternly. _'They're not...'_

"Well, let's get going, mates," announced Zabini. "Gotta get ready for the Hogsmeade testing. Seeing as this could take a while, as usual... Crabbe? Goyle?" The two boys turned to face Zabini, who gestured toward Ed. "Shall we?"

They both nodded in response. The Crabbe/Goyle standing closest to Ed stalked over, cracking his knuckles in preparation to pick him up the way he usually did. But the moment Crabbe/Goyle reached over to grab onto his shoulder, something inside Ed completely snapped. He spun around so quickly that his long braid whipped into his face and grabbed onto the front of the burly boy's robes.

And before anybody had any time to react, Ed's right fist had slammed across Crabbe/Goyle's face with an almighty crunch.

* * *

Despite the blossoming black eye that he was now sporting as he walked down the hall, Ed felt quite pleased with himself. He hadn't really meant to lash out like that (at least not at Crabbe/Goyle) and it had all happened on an instinctive, angry whim, but he couldn't help feeling almost cheerful at the thought of finally giving one of the Slytherins a decent broken nose. Even though it had been fixed almost immediately with that _Episkey _spell (no one was sure how Malfoy knew it, though), the fact remained; the crimson stains of blood on Crabbe/Goyle's robes were the lasting proof of it. 

Draco glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as they made their way to their afternoon Potions class. He frowned at the cheerful grin across Ed's face.

"You're not going to do something about your eye?"

Ed reached up to touch the fresh bruise and grinned to himself. Even though he didn't have a properly functioning brain, Crabbe/Goyle certainly knew how to fight back. He wasn't a big ugly brute for nothing. Ed decided that it was probably an animal instinct. The idiot was pretty primitive along the evolutionary cycle; he seemed more closely related to a gorilla than a human, anyway.

"Of course not!" he answered triumphantly. "A black eye is like a badge of courage! I wear it proud. Besides, it'll heal up on its own, no big deal."

The Malfoy heir frowned, quickly averting his eyes. He nervously tugged the left sleeve of his robes down. "Well, do something about it _now_, would you? Honestly, it's bad enough to be seen with you without you looking like a common thug."

"_I _look like a common thug? Just because I've got a black eye?" Ed could have laughed. "This coming from the guy who's constantly flanked by _Crabbe _and _Goyle_? That's rich."

The frown on Draco's face quickly turned into a deep scowl. Ed hadn't felt this great in ages. His grin broadened.

"This-" He gestured to his bruise. "-is _nothing_, trust me. It's just a measly black eye! Doesn't even sting."

"Bloody shame, that," Draco snapped. "Maybe if it did you'd heal it already."

He suddenly reached over and flicked a finger at the swollen flesh, practically forcing Ed to wince in pain. Ed clapped his right hand over it defensively, which only made it hurt more. He tried not to make the second wince as obvious as he discreetly switched hands. Either way, Draco hadn't noticed.

"Sheesh," Ed muttered, sucking in air through his teeth. "You didn't have to do that, y'know..."

"If it hurts so much, heal it." Draco turned to look at him expectantly. "Go on, wand out. Can't heal a bruise without your wand."

"No, it just wouldn't be-" Ed caught himself before saying "natural." He was supposed to be a wizard. Magic was supposed to be natural to him. He frantically searched for a different excuse and came up empty handed. _Shit_. Ed was painfully aware of the fact that he was becoming more and more suspicious in Draco's eyes. He stole a quick glance at the Slytherin, who was still watching him, waiting for him to pull his wand out.

"Well?" He heaved a tired, impatient sigh. "Get on with it, then."

"F-Forget it!" Ed blurted out, starting to walk faster in an attempt to leave him behind. "I'm not gonna heal it with magic!"

Draco narrowed his eyes and quickened his step to catch up. "_Heal _the bloody _eye_!"

"Why's this such an issue with you?" Ed called back over his shoulder, finding that Draco was now just a few feet behind him. "It's just a little bruise, it'll be fine in a week or so-"

"Just get rid of it!"

"Why?! Is it embarrassing? Does it bother you? _I'm _the one that should be-"

And suddenly, Draco cracked. "At least you can heal the damn bruise! At least something you have can disappear! Like it's never been marred in the first place, like it's never happened!"

Edward stopped in the middle of the hallway, his eyes wide in alarm. Slowly, he turned around to look at Draco in total shock. Draco had stopped as well, his eyes lowered to the floor. He took great, shuddering breaths as he tried to calm himself. Then, after what felt like almost an eternity, Draco raised his eyes of cerulean silver so that they met with amber gold.

"Just heal the bloody eye," he said, his voice dangerously soft.

He then straightened himself and kept walking, sweeping right past Ed without a sparing glance. Ed caught a glimpse of him self-consciously tugging down on his left sleeve as he walked away. Then he remained still for an extra moment, allowing the distance between the two of them to grow. He waited until the sounds of Draco's footsteps faded away before he even dared to move again.

Ed pulled out his wand and examined it from all sides with a blank look on his face. He then grudgingly pointed it at his bruise and healed it. There was a brief flash of light and Ed immediately felt the slight prickling wash away. With a deep, weary sigh, Ed put his wand away and continued down the hallway.

There was no point in causing Draco further grief. He didn't want to be reminded. Ed understood that.

Edward Elric, of all people, understood that.

He nervously tugged at the glove on his right hand. This was going to be a long Potions class.

* * *

"Ah, Mr. Elric!" boomed Slughorn cheerily as Ed entered the dungeon. "So good of you to join us! Have a seat, have a seat." 

He patted one of the table tops invitingly, an enthusiastic smile across his face. Ed half-smiled at the professor as he went over to the usual table. He hesitated before sitting down, realizing that he had almost ended up immediately next to Draco. He then moved again and sat further down the table, leaving several empty seats between him and the Malfoy heir.

Professor Slughorn surveyed the classroom from the front, still smiling. Ed cast a brief, off-handed glance over the room. Then did a double take. There were only four students left: Ed, Draco, some Hufflepuff boy, and Harry Potter.

"All too young to Apparate just yet?" Professor Slughorn asked them all genially. "Not turned seventeen yet?"

Harry, Draco, and the Hufflepuff all shook their heads. Then Draco shot an annoyed look at Ed.

"Well, _Elric_ has," he announced loudly.

Everyone else turned to look at him, incredulous expressions on their faces. The young alchemist just turned his eyes toward the ceiling and pretended not to have noticed. Which was difficult since he couldn't keep himself from smiling in amusement. The professor's eyebrows arched upward in surprise.

"Have you now, Mr. Elric?"

Ed shrugged nonchalantly, still staring at a spot on the ceiling.

"What're you doing here instead of at the testing, m'boy?"

He shrugged again. "Didn't see any point in taking it."

Slughorn looked momentarily confused, then suddenly gave an amused chuckle. "Ah, that's right, that's right, I've heard of the scenes you've made, Mr. Elric... Ah well, as we're so few, we'll do something for fun. I want you all to brew me up something amusing!"

"That sounds good, sir," the Hufflepuff said sycophantically, rubbing his hands together.

Draco scowled. "What do you mean, 'something amusing'?"

"Oh, surprise me," said Slughorn airily, waving a hand in the air as he returned to the front of the room.

Ed heaved a sigh as he turned his attention to his copy of Advanced Potion-Making and opened it up. Draco did the same with a sulky expression, shaking his head in annoyance. He obviously thought this lesson was a waste of his time. A part of Ed couldn't help but agree. He had better things to do than sit in that classroom brewing up something they thought would make Slughorn laugh.

_'Oh well,' _he thought as he perused his book. _'Maybe I can find something remotely useful to make in here.'_

He quirked an eyebrow interestedly as he came across a page in the textbook that described the effects of a potion called "Gregory's Unctuous Unction." He had read about this particular potion in another book before. It supposedly persuaded the drinker that whoever had given them the potion was their best friend. It was a potentially useful potion; if Ed could get Draco to think they were best friends, he might be able to discover something important! Ed's eyes quickly skimmed down the page and he frowned. There were no instructions on how to brew it. Not even a list of ingredients!

_'What the hell is this doing in a textbook if they're not gonna teach you how to make it?!'_

After looking at almost every recipe in the book, Ed finally settled on making a Babbling Beverage, which would cause the target person to talk utter nonsense. He hoped it registered on Slughorn's list of "amusing" potions (since it was certainly amusing to Ed). Then again, he didn't really care whether or not it did.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Slughorn could be found clapping his hands together as he stared into the sunshine yellow contents of Harry Potter's cauldron.

"Well, now, this looks absolutely wonderful. Euphoria, I take it? And what's that I smell?"

The professor leaned forward so that he was hovering just over Harry's cauldron and sniffed at the air, an unreadable expression on his face. Ed couldn't help but notice that Slughorn's praise to Harry was nowhere near as enthusiastic as it was in September or October. He vaguely wondered what could have happened to change his attitude so much.

"Mmm... you've added just a sprig of peppermint, haven't you? Unorthodox, but what a stroke of inspiration, Harry, of course, that would tend to counterbalance the occasional side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking..."

There was a snort from nearby and Ed turned to look at Draco, who was vehemently packing his things away. Obviously, he still hadn't gotten used to being marked as only passable in what had once been his best class. Ed fought down the smirk that was threatening to spread across his face. He quickly turned the other way and immediately regretted it. Seeing the strange concoction that the Hufflepuff boy had brewed up on a whim out of what Ed suspected to be Potter-envy was so pathetic it was funny.

"I really don't know where you get these brain waves my boy," Slughorn was saying, smiling down at the dark-haired teen. "Unless it's just your mother's genes coming out in you!"

An expression that strangely resembled relief washed over Harry's face. "Oh... yeah, maybe."

The Hufflepuff boy sniffed, giving Harry one last grumpy, envious look before turning his attention to packing his things. Since class was just about finished, Ed pulled his legs off the table top and stood, ready to put his things away as well. He glanced down into his cauldron. Slughorn seemed to have been somewhat impressed with his Babbling Beverage, so it had managed to get a better remark than Draco's Hiccupping Solution. Which was one more reason for Ed to take his time packing; Draco was on the brink of going into a patented Draco Malfoy rage. Ed knew that the wisest course of action would be to give the Slytherin as much space as necessary for the time being.

When the bell rang, both Draco and the Hufflepuff left the dungeon at once. Ed watched Draco for a moment as he left, slowly counting to twenty in his head before making a move to head out. He used that moment of free time to bottle up some of his Babbling Beverage and pocketed it. Just in case he found a use for it someday.

"Sir," he heard Harry call to the professor. "Professor-"

Ed glanced over at Harry, then at Slughorn, who looked almost frightened that Harry had called him. The professor made one of the quickest exits Ed had ever seen in his life.

"Professor," Harry called again, sounding almost desperate, "don't you want to try my po - ?"

But Slughorn was gone. Ed shook his head slowly, tutting to himself. "Jumpy old bastard... What the hell's gotten into him lately?"

Harry jumped slightly in place and turned to look at Ed in surprise. He obviously hadn't realized that Ed was still there. Ed raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're pretty jumpy yourself, Harry. It better not be contagious... What's with you?"

"Oh, nothing," he said quickly. He shut his worn-looking textbook and stuffed it into his bag. "Sorry, Ed. You just... surprised me, that's all."

Ed laughed slightly as he returned to his packing. "Yeah, I'm sneaky like that. So what were you trying to ask Slughorn?"

The Gryffindor tried to flatten some of his untidy black hair to his head. "Just... Just thought he might like to try my, er, the potion I made today." Before Ed could say anything else, Harry shook his head dismissively and changed the subject. "You didn't go down to Hogsmeade for the testing?"

"Sheesh," Ed muttered, rolling his eyes, "is everyone obsessed with that Apparition stuff or what? I thought I was already infamous throughout the school for being the only person to adamantly reject it, and people _still _ask why I didn't go to the testing."

Harry laughed a little at that, but it sounded almost forced. He seemed distracted. And although Ed noticed this, he didn't really care. It had absolutely nothing to do with him. For all he knew, Harry's mind was on other, more important things. He hadn't really meant the comment as a joke anyway, so it hadn't really mattered whether he got a laugh out of it or not. By now, Ed was finished cleaning his area and packing up. He hefted his scales and cauldron up into his arms, slung the bag with his books over his shoulder, adjusted himself so nothing would fall, and started for the door.

"See ya, Harry."

"Hey... Ed?"

Ed stopped and turned so that he was facing Harry again. "Yeah?"

"Has... Has Malfoy been, er... sick or something recently?"

His eyes became slightly wider. "Uh, whaddaya mean?"

"I dunno, he just looks a bit pale," Harry went on, shrugging casually. "Paler than usual, anyway. And thinner. A lot thinner. Has he, erm, been doing anything... strange? Is he under a lot of stress or something?"

Part of Ed wanted to laugh. Was Harry still trying to find out what Draco was up to? Ed thought that Harry would have given up on this by now. It had been a long time since they had overheard Draco's argument with Snape. Ed should have guessed; he and Harry really were quite a lot alike. But if this was his way of getting information, it was very similar to the tactics of those so-called "junior detectives" that had stocks of novels written about them. In other words, very amateurish. In Ed's opinion, anyway.

Instead of laughing outright, Ed innocently screwed up his face so it looked like he was really thinking about his answer. "I dunno, I guess so. He's been falling behind in classes, and then there's, uh... Quidditch. And stuff."

"Oh." There was a strange look in Harry's eyes. Ed recognized it. It was suspicion.

"Why?" he asked, readjusting the strap of his book bag. "What's it to you?"

Harry frowned, his green eyes lowering to the floor. "Just... wondering. That's all."

Ed was silent for a moment as he looked back at Harry, still biting back the urge to laugh and say, "Yeah, I _know _he's up to something! You just leave this to the experts, okay? The situation is under control."

Even though it wasn't. Not completely, anyway.

"Well," he said brightly, shifting the cauldron into a more comfortable position in his arms, "I'm glad we could have this talk, Harry. But if you don't mind, I kinda need to head back to my dorm and finish off some research."

"Oh, right." For half a moment it looked like Harry was about to say something else, but he seemed to have changed his mind. "Right. Sorry."

"Catch you later."

He nodded his head at Harry as a goodbye gesture since his hands were still full and left the classroom. Ed made his way leisurely to the dungeons, up to the Slytherin dormitory, and dumped all of his things into the trunk at the foot of his bed. He then stretched out his limbs, walked over to his worn out punching bag, hit it as hard as he could, and walked back. With a small sigh of relief, Ed surveyed the messy contents of his trunk with his fists on his hips.

After a moment, he reached in and pulled out one of his books at random. He then spread himself out on his bed, flipped the book open to a random page, and settled his gaze on it. Ed could feel his mind slowly slip into a familiar darkness, his senses blocking out the world and its distractions. Then a whirlwind of chaos took over, and it quickly became the only thing Ed could focus on.

Thinking time.

* * *

**Author's Note: **bwahaha, Ed finally got to punch someone in the face!! whoohooo!!! and just so it's clear, Ed tried to completely avoid going to the Apparition lessons after that first one, but Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle always found a way to drag him along. as for whether or not he's actually succeeded in Apparating yet, we'll leave that open ended. I'm thinking that maybe he actually did it successfully once before, and since then refused to put forth any effort since once is good enough for him. of course, he still got dragged to lessons, regardless. 

and Ed is starting to discover that Harry's prying into his business! er... Draco's business! which should be Ed's concern, not Harry's. ... yeah, you get the picture. sorry that this chapter ends a little awkwardly. I was stuck on this chapter for what felt like forever... so please review and let me know what's going on in everyone's minds! I take all comments, good and bad (but if it's bad, please elaborate). thanks! hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! patience is a virtue, everyone. :D


	31. Interrogative Violence

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **sorry this took so long... once again, real life intervened. --;; what a hassle the real world is. i'm on spring break now, by the way. and while ideally, i _would _spend the next week writing, i doubt whether or not i'll be able to. this vacation promises to be pretty busy... but anyways, once again, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. i love you guys. :D and i'm sorry you all had to wait for so long, just for this chapter... it's a silly chapter, really... not worth waiting for at all...

... well, okay, maybe it actually is. go ahead and read it, then let me know what you think. :P

* * *

**Chapter 31**  
**Interrogative Violence**

It was hours before Ed next reacquainted himself with the world. As a matter of fact, a full night had passed. He found himself springing out of bed at five in the morning, still fully dressed in the previous day's clothes, looking around him wildly and trying to ignore the angry complaints of his stomach. Once he had regained his bearings, Ed sank back into his bed and covered his eyes with one hand, groaning.

He had missed dinner. _And _he fell asleep during his situation analysis period.

He tried to get back into thinking mode again, but quickly found out that his mind was lagging drowsily, rendering it near impossible to think properly. So he just lay sprawled out on his bed for a while, trying to figure out what to do next. After a few minutes, he got to his feet and threw a savage punch at his punching bag. Ed realized that it seemed just about to fall apart and wondered briefly if he should fix it or not. He shrugged the idea off for now and set about readying himself to head to the bathroom to shower and change his clothes.

After that, he was going to need food. Very desperately. And lots of it.

The other Slytherins joined Ed in the Great Hall later on, finding him surrounded by plates that had apparently been licked clean, a small stack of books next to him on the bench, a roll of parchment laid out in front of him, and a quill in hand. They sat down around him at once and started talking: Pansy had apparently picked up on some more gossip ("Weasley and Brown broke up, it's official!") and Zabini and Nott apparently felt the need to brag about how they had gotten their shiny new Apparition licenses, since Ed, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were the only ones present who hadn't.

"Shame you lot weren't there," said Zabini, smirking at Draco and giving Ed a piteous pat on the back. "I'm sure you would've loved to see the graceful artistry of an Apparition master at work."

"Please," Draco muttered, rolling his eyes. "As if I _wanted _to watch you all stand around and pirouette like a bunch of idiots." As though on cue, Crabbe and Goyle got to their feet and slowly spun themselves around, their arms arched over their heads. "If I wanted to be bored out of my mind, I'd have gotten tickets to the bloody ballet. I'm not into cheap, low grade entertainment, thanks."

This put a damper on Zabini and Nott's good moods. Even Pansy, who had also passed the testing, looked put out by the comment. Ed, on the other hand, was genuinely amused. He let out a small chuckle as Crabbe and Goyle sat back down, snickering to themselves.

"I'm actually surprised to see that you all made it back in one piece." He picked up his quill and leaned back, tapping the end of it thoughtfully to his chin as he ignored the horrified looks he was now receiving from everyone to whom the comment applied. "I guess I was sort of expecting half of you to come back in all mauled up, dragging your bloody, broken, and Splinched limbs across the floor, either half-dead or well on your way to werewolf-hood."

Expressions of fear and horror flickered across a few of the faces, and Ed had to try especially hard to suppress the smug grin that he could feel bubbling beneath the surface. In order to do so, he grabbed an apple off the table and bit into it with relish.

"That's not funny, Elric," Zabini said seriously.

"You shouldn't wish for something like that to happen, Eddy!" Pansy told him in scolding tones. "What if it had actually happened? What if _I _had been attacked by a werewolf?"

Ed shot Pansy a vaguely amused look as he chewed his food. _'If only I were that lucky.'_

Zabini leaned closer to Ed. "What if _Granger _had been attacked by a werewolf?"

There was a single moment in which Ed panicked, but he recovered quickly. He had made up the whole "Death Eaters and werewolves are camping out in Hogsmeade" story just to scare Zabini. Hermione wasn't in any immediate danger. Just in case, he glanced over at the Gryffindor table to check on her. There was another moment in which Ed panicked even more when he failed to find her right away, but his nerves were soothed when he saw her stand up from her seat and exit the Great Hall. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Draco had discreetly done the same and was now releasing a small breath of relief.

"Who said anything about _wishing _for werewolves?" Ed continued, turning his attention back to his books and parchment. "I was just commenting on the odds. The chances of an attack looked pretty good." He saw Draco give him another strange look and ignored it. "Now would you guys shut up already? You're distracting me."

But naturally, the Slytherins refused to shut up. The Apparition testing discussion was officially closed, but now Pansy had reopened the gossip box. Ed tried to block her voice out, but a few bits of information still registered in his mind. Like the fact that Ginny Weasley and her boyfriend Dean Thomas broke up ("Good news for Al," he'd murmured to himself). Or that Katie Bell had finally recovered from the opal necklace incident and was back in Hogwarts.

When he heard this, Ed suddenly looked up and leaned forward, his parchment and books temporarily forgotten. "She's back? She's okay?"

Pansy looked at Ed in surprise. "Yes, she's back and, unfortunately, looking perfectly healthy. Arrived not too long ago, I saw her come in."

"Oh..." He nodded slowly, lowering his eyes and absent-mindedly tapping the tip of his quill on the table. "That's good..."

She wrinkled up her nose distastefully. "Why on earth do you care, Eddy? It's absolutely nothing to do with you, or with any of us, really."

"Yeah," Nott agreed, giving Ed a strange look. "What would it matter if she ended up at St. Mungo's for the rest of her pathetic, miserable little life?"

The young blonde quickly looked up at Nott and frowned, narrowing his eyes. _'You _would _think like that, Death Eater.'_

Before he could snap at Nott in response, Zabini slapped Ed heartily on the back, laughing. "Ah, but you forget, mates! Elric's got a soft spot for the ladies in Gryffindor! Can't say I blame him, really... Arses like theirs are terribly hard to ignore..."

Zabini slapped him on the back again and laughed even harder. Ed could feel his face turn red, though he wasn't sure if it was more out of embarrassment or anger toward the perverted Slytherin. His concern for Katie Bell was strictly a business concern; now that she was healthy again, he could ask her if she remembered anything of what happened that afternoon at the Three Broomsticks. His long standing suspicions were still desperately awaiting evidence, and an eye-witness account from the victim would certainly help out.

Deciding that he was probably better off letting Zabini's comment appear to be truth, Ed quickly got to his feet, gathered his things, loudly declared that they were distracting him from his work (which was true, in a sense), and left the Great Hall. This left the Slytherins whispering interestedly to one another about Ed's possible "Gryffindor fetish." Ed could still hear some of the things they were saying as he exited, but ignored them. They weren't important at the moment.

Current short term goal: track down Katie Bell for questioning.

Easier said than done. In order to accomplish this new goal, Ed had to figure out where, when, and how he was going to talk to her without looking conspicuous. After thinking this through several times, Ed realized that there would be no way of questioning her that wouldn't strike people as strange, so he was better off talking to her when she was alone. Though doing so would probably fuel the rumors that Pansy was already planning on spreading... Well, that was a blow Ed was just going to have to take. Sacrifices had to be made.

It was only during dinner that night that Ed found out about the Gryffindor Quidditch team having a practice session later on. Now that both Katie Bell and Ron Weasley were in perfect health and his team was once again complete, Harry wanted to have a quick meet to let them "get back into the swing of things." Ed secretly thanked Pansy for this information (though how she got a hold of it, he would probably never know) and immediately made plans to head down to the Quidditch pitch around the time their practice would be over.

About an hour after dinner ended, he quickly shut the last book he'd been rifling through and brought everything back into the dorm. He then began to rummage through his trunk in search of Dumbledore's note that permitted him to be out after curfew (just in case). Only when he was completely ready did Ed choose to leave the common room. When the others asked him where he was going, he simply told them that his limbs were feeling cramped from all the reading he'd been doing lately and he needed to stretch them out.

It was easy to get to the Quidditch pitch. There weren't many students roaming the halls at that hour, so the school felt rather deserted. Outside, the weather was pleasant; not too cold, with a soft, warm breeze. When he felt it on his skin as he walked toward the pitch, Ed couldn't help but smile slightly. It felt like an eternity had passed since the last time he went outside and enjoyed the fresh air. It wasn't long before Ed was almost at his destination. He could see several figures darting about in the darkness overhead and Harry's voice could be heard giving out instructions. Ed didn't let his gaze linger ("Broomsticks. Feh.") and instead looked straight ahead of him as he walked.

Deciding it would be best if the other players didn't notice him, he made his way carefully toward the changing room and stopped several paces away from the entrance. Then, upon ensuring that no one else was around, he leaned casually against the wall and waited for the practice to finish.

Within minutes, Ed could hear the Gryffindors entering the changing room, whooping excitedly. Not long after that, several members of the team began to file out, still in high spirits. Ed withdrew from the departing Gryffindors, making sure that nobody saw him (Harry in particular would have posed a problem) as they left. He was happy to note that none of the girls had left just yet and continued to wait quietly for Katie to emerge.

Around the time that Ed was cursing the strangely long amount of time it took girls to get changed, Katie finally stepped out of the changing room. She was still looking back over her shoulder, smiling and waving to the teammates still inside.

"See you next practice!" she called happily, and then turned to walk toward the stairs.

Ed started at once, his head turning toward her. He had to act quickly, regardless of how awkward he was sure this questioning was going to be.

"Uh... H-Hey! Katie!"

Katie turned around, a confused look in her eyes when she noticed the small, blonde Slytherin boy walking toward her. His head swiveled from one side to the other, making sure that no one was watching. Katie did a quick scan of the corridor as though she wasn't sure if she was the one being spoken to.

"Er... hello...?"

He forced out a friendly smile, fighting against his own discomfort with the situation. He was almost tempted to blurt out, in his most business-like, military fashion, "Katie Bell? Edward Elric. I need to ask you some questions about your unfortunate incident regarding a cursed opal necklace at Hogsmeade. Do you have a minute?"

What actually came out felt just as ridiculous.

Ed waved. "Uh, hey!"

Katie raised an eyebrow, looking more confused than ever. "Have we met?"

"Oh, um..." He faltered, coming to a stop a few feet away. "I guess we never really met properly, but..."

He then peered curiously up into Katie's face. Couldn't she remember anything from the incident? He'd considered the possibility. In fact, he half-expected it to be the case so he wasn't _too _surprised. But still... Ed pulled away after a moment, shaking his head dismissively. Either way, he still had to ask and find out for certain.

"Well, anyway, I'm Ed."

"Oh." Katie gave him a strange look. "Erm... are you a first year?"

His left eye twitched. He had to fight very hard to keep his temper in check. It was somewhat easier since most of his pent up rage had been expelled upon breaking Crabbe/Goyle's nose.

"No," he managed to say through clenched teeth. In his head, he was screaming bloody murder.

Suddenly, Katie's face lightened in recognition. "Hang on a minute... I _do _remember you."

Ed perked up. "You do?!"

"You were there, weren't you? That day, walking back from Hogsmeade. Leanne told me about you. Edward Elric, am I right?" He nodded in response. She smiled. "I guess I owe you one. Thanks for helping save my life."

Ed smiled back. "Oh, it's fine. No problem, really. I was just in the right place at the right time, I guess. But, uh..." His smile faded slightly. "I was actually wondering if you, uh..."

He hesitated before continuing, unsure of the best way to pose his questions. He couldn't think of any way but to be blunt and direct. It wasn't very tactful, Ed knew, but he would at least get the answers he wanted.

Katie was looking at him curiously. "You were wondering if what?"

"Uh, listen," he said at last, lowering his voice and glancing around, "while we're on the subject... You don't happen to remember anything from that day, do you? You wouldn't happen to have... I dunno... caught a glimpse of who cursed you?"

He winced slightly at his own directness. It was such a strange question to hear from someone who was practically a complete stranger. Fortunately for Ed, Katie brushed the question off with an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes as though she were sick of telling the story.

"Oh, that... People have been asking me that all day. It bothers me like mad, but I really can't remember anything other than walking into the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks..."

She let her voice trail off there and shrugged helplessly. Ed couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Oh..." He paused for a moment to think. "So then... whoever it was, they got you right the second the door opened, huh?"

"Well, now that I think about it," Katie continued, "I do recall seeing you there. With Malfoy and his friends."

Ed blinked. "Uh... yeah, I was there. But as for Malfoy, he... kinda vanished on us halfway through."

Katie raised her eyebrows in surprise, a look of worry in her eyes. "Vanished? Did he say where he was going?"

Edward shifted his weight uncomfortably. He couldn't tell this girl about what he had come to suspect about the incident! Especially not after all the new things he had learned since then!

_'Damn, are _all _Gryffindors this perceptive? Sheesh, I'm gonna have to start avoiding them all.'_

He frantically racked his brains for a decent cover up. "Well... he _said _he was going to the bathroom, but, see, he never came back. I went looking for him, but he apparently went back to the castle." He shrugged carelessly. "I guess the bathroom line was just to throw us off. Can't say I blame him... Parkinson was being exceptionally clingy that day."

Katie laughed softly, which let Ed relax. Draco owed him big. Too bad only Ed knew it.

"Yeah, Leanne and Ginny told me all about the scene she caused in the Great Hall quite a while back." Then her expression began to once again turn solemn. "But Ed... I don't think what Malfoy told you was a complete lie..."

Ed's eyes went wide and he stared at Katie in shock. "What...?"

The Gryffindor flashed a small, nervous smile and shook her head. "Well, okay, maybe I'm not _entirely _sure. I just... I just remember upon entering the bathroom, I was shoved roughly to the side by someone - I'm guessing now it could have been Malfoy - and, well, I lost my footing, and..." She trailed off, her brow furrowed thoughtfully.

"And that's when it all goes blank," Ed finished for her.

Katie looked back over at Ed and sighed. "Exactly. That's all I remember. I-I don't even know if I hit the ground."

Ed nodded thoughtfully, his gaze fixed to a spot on the opposite wall. Could it have been Draco? He tried to imagine Draco roughly grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her to the side, wand drawn... It wasn't easy. It seemed much more like something one of the Crabbe/Goyles would do, not Draco. Maybe Draco looked like the type to shove people around, but certainly not girls. Ed was sure that he wouldn't stoop that low. He quickly shook the thoughts off for now and turned his full attention back to Katie. Now wasn't the time to be thinking in depth; he was hanging on every word Katie said, waiting for something really important to come out.

"Since I first came to last week, I've just kept thinking, wishing that I really knew what happened to me that day. Wishing I knew how I ended up with that opal necklace, knowing I was supposed to give it to someone... but having no clue _who_." Katie anxiously chewed on her lower lip and then finally turned back to face Ed. "Sorry I can't be of much help. But I really just... don't remember."

For a moment Ed just looked at her, sympathizing with her confusion and frustration. Why did Draco choose Katie Bell, of all people, to deliver the cursed necklace? She didn't exactly strike Ed as the best choice, but... No, Ed immediately refuted the idea. He probably just wanted to curse whoever came to him first. But if that was true, why had he decided to use a girl? If he hexed them the moment they entered the bathroom, it wouldn't have mattered if it was a boy or girl, so it probably would've been less suspicious of him to wait in the _boys'_ bathroom. But he still chose to wait in the girls' room, even though if anyone had seen him go in there, he would've been in trouble. Ed had even been watching him leave for the bathroom... Hadn't he? He tried to remember, but his memory seemed to be failing him.

Pushing the thoughts aside to mull over later, Ed smiled and casually turned away, slipping his hands into his pockets and shrugging.

"Nah, it's fine," he told Katie brightly. "Don't worry about it. I guess I was just curious about the whole thing."

Katie smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "As is everybody."

Ed grinned. "Can you blame us?"

She couldn't help but laugh softly at that. "Well then, is there anything else you wanted to know?" Edward screwed up his face so it looked as though he was thinking very hard, then shook his head "no." "I'd better get going, then."

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you. You'd better hurry so that freak Filch doesn't catch you."

Katie nodded in agreement and turned to leave, but stopped abruptly. She turned back around and gave Ed an amused look. "By the way..."

"Yeah?"

She smiled warmly. "You know, you're not so bad... for a Slytherin."

Ed had to laugh at that. Katie's smile grew as she waved goodbye, then turned again to leave.

* * *

The next fortnight dragged on without much event. Katie's testimony had to be filed away in the recesses of Ed's mind, having given him no real, solid evidence or any leads to go on. His suspicions about the events at Hogsmeade that day remained exactly as they had been, so he put the matter on hold for now and remained focused on his other tasks. 

With so much on his mind Ed tried to avoid getting sidetracked from his work, but found it was near impossible with Zabini and the others constantly harassing him. The library seemed to be the only place where peace and quiet was the norm, and since something about the smell of hundreds of musty old tomes calmed him he spent much of his time there. Although he had temporarily postponed his research on "how magic works", he sometimes wandered through the library, taking note of the interesting books that he would have to get around to reading later on. There were times Ed did his actual schoolwork, but mostly he was just thinking with an open book posed in front of him so as not to attract unwanted attention. If he ended up staying there for too long, Madam Pince, the librarian, kicked him out, which certainly served Ed's purposes in knowing when it was time to eat.

Every now and again he would meander up to the seventh floor hallway where Draco's magic wall was still waiting, a great unsolved mystery. He would often stop and glare at the empty stretch of wall, trying to see if he could will a door to appear and let him through. Since that first morning that Al showed it to him, Ed tried performing alchemy on it various times, all of which proved useless. The magic surrounding it was powerful, Ed had finally consented to that, but it certainly didn't mean he was okay with it. In fact, it made him angrier than ever.

His visits to the wall were relatively infrequent and Ed had to take extra care upon discovering that Harry was also making detours to pass the place. He cursed mentally when he realized that the boy knew something about the wall. He constantly had to restrain himself from leaping at him and demanding the information out of him. As such, Edward was officially avoiding direct contact with Harry; anything he knew about the Gryffindor trio, he learned through Alphonse via magic two-way mirror or during their occassional early morning spars.

The rest of the school, however, was alive with excited chatter concerning the final Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Ed paid very little attention to the way everyone was behaving (what did it matter to him, really?): the Slytherins jeered at the Gryffindors when they passed a group of them in the halls between classes; insults were thrown left and right both in and out of class; some stupid chant had been revived about Ron being some kind of king (which often sent said boy running for the nearest bathroom, looking rather green and sickly). The Slytherins were obviously rooting for Gryffindor to lose magnificently; if they did, it would apparently be the first time they claimed fourth place in about two centuries. When Ed first heard that, he let out a low, impressed whistle and shook his head, feeling sorry for the heavy weight of expectation on Harry's shoulders.

A few days before the match, Pansy had sent Ed away from dinner (before it had even started!) in order to find Draco, since he had once again failed to show up for the meal. He set out grudgingly, taking a long swig of his pumpkin juice and grabbing a large sandwich before doing so. He exited the Great Hall, took a few steps to one side so he was no longer visible to anyone inside, and stopped. Ed bit into his sandwich, surveyed his surroundings for a place to sit, and then settled for one of the steps on the marble staircase. He sat there for a few moments, enjoying what he had stolen away for his dinner.

He didn't need to look for Draco. He knew exactly where he was: on the other side of his magic wall, plotting Dumbledore's assassination and trying to figure out how to allow Voldemort's Death Eaters inside the castle. One of the Crabbe/Goyles was no doubt with him, standing guard in the deserted hallway. Ed would just make it seem as though he had gone to search for him and failed. It was best to keep Pansy as calm as possible by at least having some guise of making an effort to obey her. When angry, Pansy made a banshee's cry sound angelic.

Once Ed's sandwich was gone, he decided it was safe to re-enter the Great Hall. He got to his feet, wiped his gloved hands on his pants, and headed for the entrance. He prepared in his mind a decent story to tell Pansy about how he had searched the entire castle inside out but still came up empty. He was even making himself breathe heavily so his story was more believable. But as he walked back to where he'd been sitting at the Slytherin table, he slowed.

"_There _you are, Eddy!" Pansy exclaimed, turning in her seat to look at him. "Where's Drakey? Did you find him?"

"Bloody _hell_, mate," said Zabini, looking at the look of shock and horror on Ed's face. "What's gotten into you?"

But Ed hadn't heard either of their questions. He was staring at the figures of Crabbe and Goyle. Both of them were there, sitting at the table to the left side of Nott, gorging themselves on the beautiful meal spread out before them. Ed's false heavy breathing became real and he could feel his face go hot and cold at the same time, angry and horrified all at once.

"Wha... What are they...? How long have they...? When did...?"

Pansy followed Ed's gaze and then turned back to him, raising an eyebrow. "What, Crabbe and Goyle? They've been here for ages, came in with us, of course. You didn't notice?"

Ed slowly looked at her. "They _have_?"

"What's it matter if they've been here or not?" snapped Nott, clamping down on a spoonful of clam chowder.

He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself. What did it matter? Everything! But Ed didn't understand... What were they doing there? At least one of them had to be with Draco, standing guard outside the magic wall... Which meant he wasn't at the magic wall. Which could only mean one thing: he'd gone somewhere else.

"Bloody hell, Elric," Zabini laughed, turning back to his meal. "You need to pay more attention. It's only because of them being here that I noticed Malfoy was gone at all."

Nott rolled his eyes. "Bloody attached at the hip or something, these three."

Crabbe and Goyle hadn't heard a word. They were busy shoveling food into their mouths.

"That's why I asked you to go look for Drakey!" said Pansy in scolding tones. "So have you found him? Where is he?"

Ed stared at them all for a moment, his eyes wide. Where was he? Draco was in that decrepit bathroom on the sixth floor. He'd gone to his Pensieve's hiding place.

The real question was "why?"

Without another word, Ed spun around on his heel, ran back out of the Great Hall, and hurtled himself down the corridors. He practically flew up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. He almost tripped once, but he'd recovered. His mind was suddenly in a whirlwind of confused questions: Why would Draco have gone back to his Pensieve? Why would he want to revisit that horrible graveyard and see that Muggle-born witch die at his feet all over again? What memory would he want to put in there now? Did it even have anything to do with the Pensieve? If not, then what was he doing? Why would he go back to that bathroom?

He skidded to a stop when he reached the door to the bathroom and turned to face it. The hallway was completely empty and almost totally silent. Apart from his own, heavy breathing there was a familiar, strangled sound coming from the other side of the doors that Ed was standing in front of. He knew it. Ed recognized it as the sounds of Draco Malfoy crying. All of the questions he'd had just moments before immediately dissolved. Ed was almost afraid to enter the room.

There was another voice, he noticed after a second, a high pitched one that undoubtedly belonged to a girl. Which could only mean Moaning Myrtle. Was she... consoling him? Offering him her ghostly shoulder to cry on? It seemed ridiculous, but now Ed was consumed with an overwhelming curiosity. He wanted to know what was going on. He laid a hand on the door and entered, careful not to make a sound so that he wouldn't be noticed.

Ed took two steps into the bathroom and stopped. Draco was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink before him. His white-blonde head was bowed so that Ed couldn't see his face, his whole body shaking. Ed was rooted to the spot. Though he had heard Draco crying before, he hadn't seen it. He hadn't even been able to imagine such a proud boy crying, tears streaming down his face. But here it was before him, real at last.

What Ed wouldn't have given to be blissfully ignorant of this moment for the rest of his life.

Moaning Myrtle could be seen peering over one of the cubicles at him, a sad, worried expression on her face as she looked at the boy. It seemed as though she was also about to cry, ready to burst into sobs at any given moment.

"Don't," she crooned from her cubicle. "Tell me what's wrong... Please..."

But Draco didn't answer her and instead gave out another strangled sob. He shook his head, his hands clutching the sides of the sink even harder. Ed could see his knuckles turning white. He tried desperately to think of something to say, but couldn't. What _could _he say?

"Don't," Myrtle crooned again, inching forward slightly through the wall of the cubicle. "Don't... Tell me what's wrong..."

The door to the bathroom opened slowly, the soft squeak of the hinges giving the newcomer away. The sound was just enough to bring some movement back to Ed's limbs and he turned to see who had entered. He would have to get rid of this person, whoever it was. Ed turned... and found Harry Potter, awestruck, standing in the doorway.

Myrtle was unaware that Ed and Harry had entered. Her attention was solely fixated on Draco. "I can help you..."

"No one can help me," said Draco, his voice trembling. "I can't do it... I can't... It won't work... and unless I do it soon... he says he'll kill me..."

Ed could only stare at Harry in horror. He wanted to yell and throw him out, but he wouldn't be able to do that without Draco noticing. They had intruded on his moment of weakness, and if Ed had learned anything about Draco Malfoy, it was that he was a very proud creature; he wasn't going to take to this development well.

Just as Ed was about to shove Harry out the door, Draco gasped suddenly and gulped down some air in a manner that made it seem almost painful. Then, with a great shudder, he looked up into the flu-cracked mirror. And he saw, quite plainly in its reflection, Harry openly staring at him with Ed standing near the door, a concerned look on his face.

Exactly as Ed thought, Draco didn't take this development well. Not at all.

Draco wheeled around and drew his wand in a flash. Ed raised his arms in a gesture of surrender, but his worried expression remained largely in tact. He swallowed anxiously, making slow movements toward Draco as though he were dealing with a fidgety, trigger-happy rabbit.

"Now, Malfoy... Before you even-"

But apparently, Harry had already drawn his wand on instinct and Draco sent a non-verbal hex in their direction. A wall lamp, merely inches away from Harry's head, shattered. Ed raised his arms protectively over his head as the pieces of it rained down on him. The dark-haired teen threw himself sideways, flicking his wand, but whatever spell he had cast, Draco blocked it. He raised his wand again, ready for another.

"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. "Stop! STOP!"

Without thinking, Ed sprang at Draco, grabbing onto the wrist that held his wand and effectively holding him back. He tried to raise himself higher to intimidate Draco into backing off, but the boy had a good foot on him in height.

"Put it down, Malfoy!" Ed shouted over Myrtle's pleas. "He didn't do anything!"

But Draco was clearly in an emotional rage. The tears were still fresh on his cheeks, still pricking at the corners of his cerulean silver eyes. He wrenched his arm away and shoved Ed to one side, knocking him into one of the cubicles. He was thrown roughly onto the toilet, his forehead colliding with the side of the porcelain seat. Ed's head throbbed and for a moment, Myrtle's shouting seemed to fade in and out of his senses, the world before his eyes spinning. He squeezed his eyes shut, clutching his head in his hands as he tried to get a hold of himself.

There was a sudden, loud bang that seemed to reverberate in Ed's ears. He groped around for support and pulled himself back up to his feet as a thousand sounds hit him in a single, powerful wave. He emerged quickly from the cubicle just as there was another bang and a bin behind Harry suddenly exploded. Ed launched himself forward, not caring which boy he caught as long as one of them stopped throwing curses and hexes at the other. He had apparently lunged at Draco and, grabbing him forcefully by the shoulders, pushed him up against one of the walls. This made Harry pause for just a moment in his attack, breathing hard as he watched them warily.

"Just what the _hell _do you think you're doing?!" he yelled into Draco's face. "Put that fucking thing down _right now_!"

He didn't listen and instead moved past Ed, wand extended and trained on Harry. He shot out another hex which just missed hitting its target. Harry gave his wand another flick, but his jinx must have backfired off the wall, right behind Draco's ear, and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle. Myrtle let rip an especially deafening, ghostly scream at the explosion. Water poured out everywhere, all across the linoleum floor. Ed turned to look at Harry, his gold eyes flashing.

"STOP IT!"

Neither one of the boys seemed to be paying any attention to him, or maybe Myrtle's screaming had completely drowned him out. They both took a step forward, their eyes locked on one another. Then suddenly, Harry slipped on the wet linoleum floor. And for one fleeting, terrifying moment, he was left wide open.

Draco Malfoy raised his wand, his face twisted in pure, brilliant fury. His silver eyes glimmered dangerously as he looked down at Harry. Ed knew, in an instant, what he was going to do. Draco needed to unleash his frustration with his master, vent out his rage toward his uncontrollable circumstances, inflict physical pain equivalent to that which he suffered emotionally on a daily basis on someone... And there was but one way he could think to do that.

Ed's eyes went wide and he charged forward again. He brought himself right up in front of Draco, his back to where Harry was sprawled helplessly across the wet tiles. He would take the wand away before Draco could make the mistake of using the Cruciatus Curse. That one curse could rob him of his last shred of innocence, irreversibly turning him into Voldemort's kind. Ed wasn't going to let that happen, not after he had come so far. Not if he could help it.

"_Cruci_-"

"NO!"

And then, taking Ed completely by surprise, he heard Harry bellow out words that he'd never heard of or read anywhere before.

"_SECTUMSEMPRA_!"

* * *

**  
**  
**Author's Note: **DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNN. cliffhanger desu! and we finally have a little bit of a fight scene!! but it's largely between Harry and Draco and was, for the most part, originally written by the great J.K. Rowling _(bows humbly toward original author)_. though Ed jumping in is, of course, not her writing. XD 

heehee... upon reading this through again, i think i really do like this chapter. :P this is the beginning of the part that i was most anxious and excited to write for. too bad i had to end the chapter just as i got to it... oh well! hehe, i actually would've jumped to these scenes much earlier, but i'm uncomfortable with the idea of skipping more than a month of Hogwarts' life. hence the many transition chapters. hopefully these next few chapters will make up for all those. :P

anyways, as always, please leave a review if you're enjoying the story! heehee, i'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. :D apologies in advance for any delays i may encounter before then.


	32. Consequences

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**  
_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note: **wow, that cliffhanger got an amazing response!! you all know you love it. don't lie, don't deny it. XP but anyways, sorry again for taking so long. real life delayed me again. this update is long overdue... i'm still a little hesitant to put this up now 'cause i'd been hoping to finish off one more chapter before doing so, but... i feel like i've left you all in suspense long enough. right? honest, i wanted to put it up sooner, but... yeah. _(peers at reviews) _when did i get upgraded to God status?! lol.. well anyways, yeah, i think you guys are _definitely _tired of waiting for me to update. i'm sorry! but here it is at last, my good, wonderful, and oh-so-patient friends. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 32**  
**Consequences**

"_SECTUMSEMPRA_!"

Edward didn't know what that spell was. The words were completely alien and meant nothing to him. He'd never heard the words before that night, had never come across them in his books. Until that moment, to Edward Elric, such a spell didn't exist. But what he was quickly coming to learn about the spell was that, whatever the hell it was, it hurt. A _lot_.

It had all happened so quickly that it almost felt like slow-motion. Blood suddenly spurted from Draco's face and the upper portion of his chest as though he'd been slashed by an invisible sword. And then Ed felt it, too; for a second there was a loud, screeching noise followed by a searing pain going across part of his right shoulder blade, easily tearing through his robes. He quickly whirled around to face Harry, opening his mouth to yell at him.

But the moment he turned the invisible sword swiped again in an upward motion, slicing into Ed's left cheek. He lowered his head and stepped back, instinctively raising his right arm up in front of him to act as a shield. Then there was that ear-splitting screech like nails on a chalkboard again. And as he saw the material of his right sleeve get torn to shreds, he finally realized that the sound was made by Harry's spell raking across his auto-mail. He couldn't help the fearful pounding of his heart at having his auto-mail exposed, after the great pains he'd gone through to keep it concealed for so long. But dropping his shield now would only get himself and Draco severely wounded by this strange spell that Harry was using.

He glanced briefly at the Gryffindor boy, still on the floor. He was waving his wand around wildly, but the movement was slowing as Harry began to realize what his spell was doing. Ed kept his arm in front of him, trying to block the invisible sword's blows, acting as a shield both for him and for Draco. His sleeves continued to be shredded as he held his arms out in front of him, his auto-mail becoming more and more exposed. It wasn't long before the spell stopped altogether, Harry's eyes wide in horror as he stared at the blood dripping down over Draco's face and seeping through his robes. Only then did Ed lower his arms, his eyes just as wide in utter disbelief.

"No -" the boy gasped.

"Holy _shit_, Harry, what the hell did-"

There was a thud from behind him and Ed quickly whirled back around. His face drenched in torrents of blood, Draco had staggered back into the nearest wall and leaned heavily against it, dropping his wand to the floor in favor of clutching his chest wound. Ed moved forward to grab onto him before he had the chance to fall to the floor, shifting slightly to be able to support the taller boy's weight. He bent down, helping Draco so that he sat upright with his back against the wall. When he pulled away, Ed's gloves and robes were covered in massive amounts of Draco's blood.

"Shit," he breathed as he looked at his crimson-stained gloves. He then proceeded to tear at Draco's robes to inspect the chest wound further. He winced sympathetically at the sight. "Damn, it's deep... Looks like it just missed piercing your lung..."

Draco bit down on his lower lip, squeezing his eyes shut and looking like he was trying to press himself into the wall. Whatever spell Harry had just used, it was effective. The wound still hurt long past the cutting stage; there was a burning sensation in the shallow cut across Ed's cheek and on several spots where it must have cut around his right shoulder and left forearm. He could only imagine how much more intense the pain was with a wound as deep as the ones Draco now sported on his face and torso.

Slipping and staggering, Harry hurried over to them and dropped down to his knees on the floor opposite Ed. He looked terrified and confused, unsure as to what he should do, words tumbling awkwardly out of his mouth. Ed turned to give Harry a stern, enraged look, brushing away the blood on his face which served only to smear it and further stain the backside of his glove.

"What the hell kinda spell was that, Harry?! Just what the _fuck _were you thinking?!" He then looked just as accusingly at Draco. "_Both _of you! Have you guys completely lost your minds?!"

Harry shook his head, never tearing his eyes away from Draco. "No - I didn't -"

"Just look at this - You could've _killed _each other!"

"I didn't _mean_ to - to-" Harry finally turned to look at Ed. Only then did he catch the glint of metal on Ed's arm, and his bright green eyes locked on to it. "Ed, what - your arm-"

He reached over as though meaning to touch it, but Ed quickly withdrew his arm and tried desperately to cover it up with what was left of his robes. A futile attempt. Most of the cloth was in shreds, floating about in the ankle-deep water, leaving his auto-mail almost completely exposed from the mid-bicep down. Ed lowered his gold eyes to a spot on the wall near Draco's shoulder, but he could tell that both boys were looking at him now - he could practically feel their stares on his auto-mail.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think of something to say. For it was that very moment that Moaning Myrtle interrupted, letting out a deafening scream: "MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!"

"THE ONLY DEAD PERSON IN HERE IS _YOU_, YA MORON!" Ed barked at her, now trying to cover his auto-mail by laying his other arm over it. "SO QUIT YELLIN'!"

But it was too late for that. The door to the bathroom burst open and everyone turned to see who had entered. Severus Snape was now standing in the entryway, his face livid. His dark, beady eyes instantly found the three of them huddled on the other side of the bathroom and he swept over to them, his long robes billowing around him and getting soaked in the ankle-deep water. He shoved Harry and Ed roughly aside, knelt next to Draco, drew his wand, and traced it over the deep wounds. He began to mutter a strange, almost melodious incantation as he did so.

Ed watched quietly, once again trying to wipe his own cut clean, but his blood-soaked gloves only smeared more blood across his face and made him look more wounded than before. After a moment of chanting, the flow of blood from Draco's wound seemed to ease. Snape then addressed the cut between Draco's eyes, wiping away the residue with a clean hand, and repeated the spell. The wounds seemed to be knitting themselves shut.

After a moment, Ed looked away and turned to examine the collateral damage that Harry and Draco's fight had caused. The bathroom was wrecked; a cracked sink, an exploded toilet, several lamps and mirrors shattered, holes in the wall, and linoleum tiles scattered haphazardly across the dirty, flooded floor. Moaning Myrtle was still wailing and sobbing overhead. Harry, soaked in water and blood, was alternating his stare between Draco's wounds and, as luck would have it, Ed's auto-mail arm. He could see the boy's green eyes glimmering with worry and curiosity.

When Snape completed his counter curse for the third time, he half-lifted Draco into a standing position. "You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that..." He then glanced over at Ed and, upon noticing the cut on his face, narrowed his eyes. "You, too, Elric. Get up."

Ed wiped the blood off his cheek again, his eyes darting everywhere as he tried to think of an excuse not to go with them, but he couldn't. The burning sensation in his cheek and arm was just as insistent in telling him that he needed to be healed. But there was no way he could go with them to the hospital wing with his auto-mail as exposed as it was...

"_Get up_!" Snape repeated, louder and more forceful this time as he carried Draco, who was now slipping in and out of consciousness, toward the door. "And follow me! As for you, Potter..." He turned around to fix Harry with a look of cold fury. "Don't even _think _about trying to weasel your way out of this one. You will accompany us. _NOW_."

Frowning at the direct command, Ed slowly picked himself up and got to his feet, hiding his auto-mail by draping his left arm and its huge sleeve over it. Out of the corner of his eye, Ed could see Harry stand as well, a look on his face that was somewhere between confusion and terror. Snape shot glares at both of them before turning back around and helping Draco out of the bathroom. He threw the door open and snapped at the ever wailing Moaning Myrtle to shut up as they exited. With a final wail and loud sob, the ghost dove into the nearest toilet with a large splash and was gone.

Harry glanced uncertainly at Ed, but the blonde had lowered his head so that his bangs covered his face. Then he followed Snape and Draco out the door and down the hall, his left arm still wrapped protectively around his right. Harry followed soon after, but as soon as he fell in-step with Edward, Ed's steps became quicker. Ed knew what would happen if he and Harry remained in close proximity for too long: questions. Questions that Ed didn't want to answer because they dredged up memories that he'd sworn to leave behind him.

And he could feel it: Harry was giving him that look. The one almost everybody gave him when they found out. The same overwhelming curiosity, the almost sympathetic, tragic look that everyone gave him when they saw his auto-mail. It was something Ed had learned to despise and avoided at all costs, though he was equally practiced in ignoring it. Whenever Harry came closer or opened his mouth, Ed started to walk faster. He could still feel the burning in his own wounds and the blood trickling down his face, but didn't dare raise a hand to wipe it away.

The few students that had filtered into the hallways looked at the group strangely as they walked past, but once Snape looked back at them, they hurried away. Ed wished he could get away just as easily. The sooner he separated himself from the others, the better. He was worried about his auto-mail. He couldn't tell what sort of damage had been done to it. So far his arm seemed to be working fine so it was probably only on the surface. He hoped so, anyway. Quietly getting Winry to Hogwarts for maintenance would be near impossible.

Not just because it would raise suspicion, but also because of Winry's attitude. Someone throwing a wrench at someone's head from fifty paces and screaming their lungs out was definitely not - in any way, shape, or form - subtle. And Ed wasn't looking forward to experiencing that at all.

"Potter," Snape said when they turned into a deserted corridor, not turning to look at the boy properly. "What-"

Harry's attention was finally torn away from Edward. "I didn't mean it to happen," he said at once. "I didn't know what that spell did."

"Then you shouldn't have used it at all," Ed muttered darkly under his breath, keeping his eyes to the floor.

Though if anyone heard him, Ed didn't know. Harry didn't say anything in response and just chewed anxiously on his lower lip. Snape seemed to have ignored them both.

"Apparently I underestimated you, Potter," he said quietly. "Who would have thought you knew such Dark Magic? Who taught you that spell?"

"I-" Harry faltered. "I read about it somewhere."

Ed raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the boy. "Where?"

Harry's green eyes darted from Snape to Ed and back. He seemed panicked. "It was - a library book. I can't remember what it was call-"

"Liar."

Snape's voice reverberated with such quiet, cold conviction that it cut through all argument like a knife. Harry shut his mouth at once and tightly pressed his lips together, his eyes wide. The rest of the walk was silent and Harry looked absolutely terrified.

Upon arriving at the infirmary, Snape threw open the door and bellowed, "Madam Pomfrey!"

The head nurse emerged from her office almost at once, looking at Snape inquisitively. "Severus? How may I - _Merlin's beard_!"

She clapped a hand over her mouth at the sight of Draco's bloody face and robes. She gasped again when Ed trailed into the room a moment later, still hugging himself while his cheek wound bled freely. She descended on the injured boys at once, her trained eyes examining them from head to toe.

"Good _heavens_," she breathed in horror as she stared into Draco's face. "What on earth... What's happened to you boys?!"

Before Snape could open his mouth to reply, Madam Pomfrey waved a hand dismissively, shushing him. She rose to her full height and walked briskly toward the nearest bed. "Never mind, no time for that. Over here, Severus, lay him here..."

Snape complied and brought Draco's half-conscious body to the cot that Madam Pomfrey had indicated. He turned his head very slightly so that he could see Harry and Ed as he did so.

"Get inside, Elric," he hissed over his shoulder. "Now."

Ed said nothing in response, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Harry had stolen another glance at him. Refusing to acknowledge his presence any further than he already had, Ed moved forward slowly, wrapping his arms still more tightly around him.

"And Potter..." Snape looked up and set Harry with an eerily cool gaze. Harry squirmed under it, apparently unable to stop staring into Snape's face. "Bring me your schoolbag and all of your schoolbooks. All of them."

This was a strange request to Ed, but it must have jolted something in Harry's system. He bit down on his lower lip anxiously, looking like he wanted to protest, but Snape wouldn't have it.

"Bring them to me here," the professor repeated. "Now!"

It seemed like Harry had decided that there was no point in arguing with Snape and he hurried back out into the hallway, trying to flatten his damp, untidy hair over his head as he did so. Once Harry was out the door and Snape had redirected his attention to Madam Pomfrey and Draco, Ed began to walk faster. He sped right past Snape and headed for the closed off area at the back of the hospital wing.

"_Merlin_, the trouble these students get into these days!" he heard Madam Pomfrey mutter as he walked past. "What spell could have done this? Never in my life..."

Once Ed had successfully slipped behind the white curtain, he perched himself on the edge of the nearest bed and quickly ripped away what was left of his right sleeve, wincing slightly as he did so. He kept the remains close - he would need them to fix his robes. He felt frantic, like he was racing against time to check the damage. But it was suddenly getting difficult to focus, like the energy was quickly being drained out of his system. Was it because of his injuries? Hadn't they stopped bleeding yet?

"Did you patch this up, Severus?"

"Yes." Snape's answer was short and curt.

"It was a good thing you arrived, then. You've closed the wounds well enough, though I may need to - Why on earth is he all wet?"

Ed shook his head vigorously, trying to straighten his head. His cheek and forearm were hurting and throbbing again, his head was reeling. Blood dripped onto the immaculate white sheets. Why was he _still _bleeding?! He closed his eyes tightly and tried to will the pain away. All he needed was a minute or two. He just had to check his auto-mail for any lasting, serious damage, and then he could clap his hands, fix his robes, and walk back out there like nothing was wrong.

_'Focus, Ed!' _he commanded himself furiously. _'Quick! Get this done!'_

"I found them in the bathroom. One of the toilets had apparently been destroyed."

"Them? Ah, yes, them... Malfoy and - Where's the other boy gone?"

After a moment, the burning finally subsided and Ed opened his eyes. He turned his attention back down to his arm, but before he could get a decent look, the curtain behind him was thrown back. Ed gave out a shout and jumped in his seat, almost falling off the edge of the bed. But before he could, a hand reached out and grabbed firmly onto Ed's auto-mail, holding him steady.

A cold shiver ran up and down Ed's spine as he looked up at Snape. The professor's eyes were wandering across the length of his prosthetic arm, taking in every bolt and groove in its surface. Ed watched him for a moment, anxiety and panic seizing him. He couldn't even bring himself to take advantage of the moment to examine the auto-mail himself and assess the damage. The look on Snape's face was different from what Ed was accustomed to: it was cold and analytical. The change came as a relief in some ways, but it was simply disturbing in others. Why did the sight of metal in place of flesh not faze him? What on earth was going on in that head of his?

After a moment Snape tightened his grip on the metal arm and lifted his eyes to meet Ed's gaze. Ed quickly looked away, allowing his stare to rest on one of the drops of blood that stained the bed sheet. Snape's upper lip curled slightly in annoyance as he pulled out his wand with his free hand and used it to repair the damages to Ed's robes. When he was finished with the sleeve, he pointed his wand at all the other cuts in the material, inspecting each place for wounds before fixing them.

"Potter's doing?" he asked upon finding the cuts on his shoulder.

Ed nodded slightly in response, absently wiping away the blood that was still drizzling down his face from the wound on his cheek. He stayed silent with his eyes still lowered to the bed as the professor proceeded to heal each of Ed's wounds on his shoulder and left forearm as he discovered them. Only when Snape finally started in on his injured cheek did a new question suddenly pop up in Ed's mind. The young Slytherin turned slightly and gave Snape a stern, questioning look.

"Why are _you _healing me?" he said quietly. "Isn't that supposed to be the nurse's job?"

Snape didn't answer right away, seemingly too occupied with the healing process. When he finally pulled back he was glowering down his hooked nose at him. Ed held his gaze, still waiting to hear the professor's answer even though he already had a vague idea of what it was.

"Make sure Madam Pomfrey doesn't see this," he hissed, avoiding the question altogether and thrusting Ed's arm back at him. "There would be a lot of questions."

_'As if I didn't already know that,' _Ed thought bitterly, frowning. He didn't dare voice himself, knowing it would only bring more trouble.

"Severus!" called Madam Pomfrey from Draco's bedside. "Help me move Mr. Malfoy to one of the beds behind the curtain!"

"Of course," he answered her after a moment's hesitation, his eyes still fixated on Ed. He then leaned closer to Ed and said in a low voice, "Understand _very well_, Elric, that you will be dealt with accordingly in due time."

Then he turned sharply on his heel to come to Madam Pomfrey's assistance. Ed leaned back against the edge of the bed, letting out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. He had to admit that he felt much better now that his auto-mail was concealed again, but his secret was more or less out in the open: Harry, Snape, and Draco had all seen it by now for sure.

Within moments, Snape and Madam Pomfrey had reached the closed off section of the ward and hurriedly threw back the curtain around the bed across from Ed. He jumped slightly at the sound, immediately tugging down on his long, right sleeve so that Madam Pomfrey couldn't see anything. Though it was hardly necessary; she was focused more on Draco and his much more severe wounds.

"Lay him here," she said to Snape, watching his every move with eyes like a hawk's. "Careful now. I'll be right back with some dittany..."

The head nurse hurried back to her office to retrieve the medicines she needed, murmuring something to herself and shaking her head in apparent disapproval. Ed watched her leave for a moment and then turned to look at Draco, who had finally slipped into a state of unconsciousness. The blood over his face and the dirty water had been removed, leaving him clean and dry. He now had a scar diagonally across the bridge of his nose between the eyes, still slightly pink and clearly visible against Draco's pale skin.

Madam Pomfrey returned soon enough, a bowl of some sort of light-colored ointment or crushed herb in one hand and a large red bottle in the other. She set both of these items down on the table next to Draco, quickly wiped her palms on her apron, dipped one hand into the bowl, and began to swab the stuff over Draco's new scar. Snape was silent, his disapproving look going from one Slytherin to the other.

"He's going to need to stay here to recover," the nurse told him. "At least overnight, I'd say. Can't be too careful, Severus, you understand."

"Naturally," Snape said with a curt nod.

The doors to the hospital wing opened and both Ed and Snape turned to see who was there. Harry was entering the ward, breathing heavily and quite red in the face from exhaustion, his schoolbag in his arms. Snape's lip curled slightly at the sight of him. He excused himself from Madam Pomfrey's side and walked over to Harry, one hand outstretched toward him in a gesture for his bag. Ed remained silent, watching the scene with some mild interest. He was also curious as to what that spell was and how Harry (and Snape, it seemed) knew of it.

One by one, Snape pulled Harry's books from his bag and examined them closely. He set each of them on top of a nearby bed as he finished with them. Finally, he pulled out a copy of Advanced Potion-Making. He scrutinized this book with exceptional care. Ed narrowed his eyes at the book in Snape's hands. He was almost positive that the book he'd seen with Harry during class for the past months was more worn-looking than that.

Madam Pomfrey was paying no mind whatsoever to what was going on with Snape and Harry on the other side of the room. Once she finished treating Draco, she walked over to Ed.

"Your turn now," she said, drawing the white curtain shut again and making Ed turn toward her. "Let's have a look at you. Mr. Elric, is it?"

Ed nodded absently, tugging on the blood-stained glove on his right hand. "Uh, yeah... I'm fine, actually," he told the nurse dismissively. "Nothing big-"

"What's _that _then?" the nurse asked accusingly, nodding at his cheek as she conjured up a stool for her to sit on.

"Just a cut. It'll be fine, Snape already healed-"

"Oh, did he?" Madam Pomfrey looked mildly annoyed to hear about this intrusion on her duties. "Well, Mr. Elric, seeing as I'm the head nurse here, I'll be the judge. _Tergeo._"

She flicked her wand, removing the blood and dirt from Ed's face and hair. She placed her hands gently on either side of Ed's head for a moment, checking for any bumps or bruises. Upon finding one, she dropped her hands to get her wand and healed it with another quick wave. Then she leaned forward again, pushing Ed's long bangs out of the way so she could more closely inspect the still-pink line down his cheek. Ed kept still, not wanting to bring her attention to any other part of his body. After a moment, Madam Pomfrey frowned thoughtfully.

"Hmm... the same as Mr. Malfoy," she murmured, mostly to herself. "A most unusual... At least Severus knows what he's doing..."

Ed tuned Madam Pomfrey's musings out and redirected his attention toward Snape and Harry. Since Madam Pomfrey shut the curtain, obstructing his view of the scene, he had to strain his ears to catch part of their conversation.

"...that you purchased from Flourish and Blott's?"

"Yes," he heard Harry say in a firm, almost defensive tone of voice.

"Then why," asked Snape, "does it have the name 'Roonil Wazlib' written inside the front cover?"

A sudden cold wetness on his skin brought Ed back to Madam Pomfrey. He let out an involuntary shout of surprise and jerked away from her outstretched hand. He stared wide-eyed at her fingers, which were covered in the same goop that she'd been applying to Draco's wounds.

"What's that stuff?"

"It's dittany," she told him, confused by his reaction. "It helps prevent scarring."

He reached up to his cheek to touch it, curiosity suddenly sparking within him. Madam Pomfrey gave him another funny look, then leaned forward again.

"Now stay still for just a moment, it won't take long."

Ed obeyed this time, allowing Madam Pomfrey to slop the stuff onto his face. He decided it was best not to argue and took the opportunity to further listen in on Snape and Harry's confrontation. Snape was suddenly speaking very quietly and Ed had to resist the urge to lean closer to the white curtain that separated them.

"I think that you are a liar and a cheat and that you deserve detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. What do you think, Potter?"

"I - I don't agree, sir."

"Well, we shall see how you feel after your detentions. Ten o'clock Saturday morning, Potter. My office."

"But sir... Quidditch... the last match of the..."

There was such desperation in Harry's voice that Ed almost felt sorry for the boy. But he was still a bit too angry over what he'd done to them.

The nurse finally finished with Edward and pulled away from him, wiping her hands on her apron. "That should do it."

Ed turned back toward her, somewhat surprised to have been pulled out of his eavesdropping, and then reached up to touch his cheek with his left hand. Madam Pomfrey immediately caught his wrist and lowered it back to his lap.

"Don't touch. It needs to set in."

"Oh. Right."

She then whipped out the same crimson-colored bottle she'd brought to Draco's bedside table, poured some of it into a goblet, and handed it to Ed. "Drink up now. You look a bit pale, must have lost some blood."

Ed glanced up at her before accepting the goblet and raising it to his lips to drink. He was very anxious to leave the hospital ward. Snape was still waiting for his chance to chew him out (which Ed certainly wasn't looking forward to), and his auto-mail still needed to be checked. He stuck his tongue out in distaste once he'd downed the potion and handed it back to the nurse, who clicked her tongue at him scoldingly.

"So, uh... Can I go now?"

Madam Pomfrey looked like she wanted to laugh. "Oh, gracious _no_!"

"But I feel just fine!" he protested. "Perfectly healthy! It's not like I'm in critical condition or anything!"

The nurse shook her head. "While Severus did a marvelous job healing your wounds, I'd like you to stay so I can be sure the scarring goes down. I've also got to keep an eye out for any side effects, allergic reactions, if there are any..."

"And _I _would still like a word with you, Elric."

Both nurse and patient's heads snapped upward to look at Snape, who had just re-entered their section of the hospital ward. He was giving Ed a particularly distrustful look, his dark eyes gleaming from beneath his curtain of greasy hair. Madam Pomfrey frowned deeply at the professor.

"About what?" she asked, her tone of voice unyielding.

Snape coolly shifted his gaze toward the head nurse. "About what just happened to him and to Malfoy."

"In the same way you spoke to Mr. Potter? _Merlin_, Severus!" she cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Mr. Elric is still in recovery and you _know _that I don't tolerate anyone harassing or distressing recovering patients. Honestly!"

Professor Snape scowled. Ed kept a stony expression on his face, fighting down a smug grin. He was secretly pleased with the way the nurse had usurped Snape's authority over him as Head of Slytherin, even if it was only temporary. And even though his injury was really very minor.

_'Oh well,' _he thought. _'Can't really complain if being in here keeps me away from Snape.'_

"Now please, Severus, just leave this to me. I'll return them both to you in full health and in no time at all. So save your questions for then, hmm?"

She then gestured for Snape to leave as she got up and returned to Draco's bedside. Snape's expression became sourer than ever. He then turned back to Ed and gave him a significant look. Ed understood at once. He'd been in the military long enough to recognize a non-verbal command when given one. Once he was released, Snape was going to have that talk with him. There was no question or argument in the matter. As soon as he felt that his message had been relayed properly, Snape finally turned away and exited the hospital ward, his dark robes billowing behind him.

Ed then directed his attention to Draco, still asleep on the bed across from him. He watched as Madam Pomfrey bustled about him, still inspecting him for further injury. She poured some of the liquid from the red bottle into a cup, placed it to Draco's lips, and eased the liquid into his mouth, gently massaging his throat so that he would swallow it. Once that was accomplished, she replaced the cup on the table and corked the bottle. Her eyes wandered over Draco's figure one last time, still searching for something she may have missed. Then with one firm nod of her head, she turned away and started for her office, dimming the lights with a wave of her wand.

"Get some sleep, Mr. Elric," she said over her shoulder. "Rest is the best thing for both of you right now."

But Ed didn't want to sleep. He wasn't really sleepy at all. Instead, he waited for the sound of Madam Pomfrey shutting the door to her room so that he could check his auto-mail. He adjusted his sitting position, swinging himself around so that his back was to the curtain and his arm was closest to the light. He glanced over his shoulder at the curtain one last time, his ears trained for any unusual sounds, and finally pulled back his sleeve.

He sighed in relief. The auto-mail was not heavily damaged at all. There were a lot of visible scratches across its surface, but only two had really cut into the front plate. He carefully checked those out and found that they hadn't cut deeply enough to sever any wires. Everything was still perfectly functional. The auto-mail just looked extremely beaten and worn, which wasn't very different from usual. All it really needed was surface repair, something that Ed could do himself. Ed had to hand it to Winry: her skills were top-notch.

_'Wait 'til I tell her that it held its own against magic, of all things!'_ he thought with a grin. He then paused, his grin fading as he rethought the idea. _'On second thought, maybe I shouldn't. I'd never hear the end of it...'_

Ed glanced about, once again making sure that he wouldn't be seen. He looked over at Draco and was still for a moment, making sure he was fast asleep. When he decided that it was safe, he smiled to himself and slapped his hands together.

* * *

**Author's Note: **sorry to disappoint anybody, but it looks like Winry will not be making any actual appearances in this fic. that executive decision has been finalized with the ending of this chapter. and that's not just because of crazed, biased, and jealous Ed fangirl-ness, i assure you! i honestly considered it, and though i kinda liked the idea of having Winry burst into the Great Hall and chuck a wrench at Ed's head at 50mph, i couldn't think of any use for her beyond that. i even thought maybe she'd send a howler, which would somehow bash him over the head with a wrench anyway, but Winry's... well, a Muggle. not even an alchemist! how the hell would she know how to do that? so that didn't work out either. i also wondered if maybe Ed's entire right forearm oughta get lobbed off so that Winry could come and fix it. but seriously, if she were to come to Hogwarts at all, then it'd turn into a big deal and i'd have no idea how to get her back out of there. and i can't let her stay because... as i said, i really can't think of any other uses for her. and so, in the end, she's just not going to appear. though she does get a terrible lot of mention... _(jealous grumble)_ anyways! 

i rearranged some book stuff to serve my own (evil?) purposes. this chapter, by the way, was practically written twice. the first time i wrote it, it was... okay, i suppose... i knew nothing about Madam Pomfrey's character, and i had doubts about my portrayal of Snape. then i showed it to my beta-reader/co-writer, and everything became fixed. a lot just had to be rewritten, and/or a buncha stuff got added. but in the end, it's so much better. :)

oh, bah, dittany. i had to go and look up just what the hell it is. while i initially thought it was a potion or something, i found out that it's an herb. so i figured it probably gets crushed and used as an ointment or something, which made a whole lot more sense, considering its use. and check out Snape the healer! Mjade and i had this idea that Sectumsempra wounds don't stop bleeding on their own (like Nagini bites _OotP_), and since Snape's the one who invented Sectumsempra he's the only one who really knows how to heal the wounds caused by it.

and YES. the auto-mail has finally been revealed! but the confrontation about it is still coming up. Snape doesn't quite strike me as the type to go around blabbing about how he's just discovered that Ed has a metal arm (maybe he'd tell Dumbledore, but the headmaster already knows so that wouldn't make any difference at all), and i'm not sure Draco really cares (plus, he's out like a light, so he's not in any position to... talk. literally). Harry, on the other hand, is no doubt curious about it and could very well tell Hermione and Ron about it. but i don't think he will; surely he knows how to recognize a secret, and he should know by now that everyone has their reasons for keeping them. i'm sure he'll keep it safely guarded... and i don't think it'd be too big a problem if Hermione and Ron (and maybe Ginny) were told, anyway. they're not stupid... and Al's there to make sure they promise not to tell.

all that said... please review! and more to come soon! ...hopefully. my CSAG muse seems to have wandered off and taken a vacation without telling me. T-T


	33. Night Talks

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent:D

**Author's Note: **I am horribly, horribly, horribly obscenely sorry that this has taken so long to get out. Seriously. Writer's block is still haunting me something awful, but I owe it to you guys and your endless patience to just… update already. This is kind of an interesting chapter… in its way.

_to the unrepliable reviews that I wanted to reply to (XD):_

_Lachwen_ - lmao! yes, it _is _quite fun to get people in trouble. I enjoy it, too, hence randomly throwing Ed into detention with Snape after getting back from vacation. Mjade was like "what'd you do that for? what'll happen there?" and I was just like "oh... I dunno." :P but anyways... I guess some of your questions are right about to be answered! ;)

_spam and tuna_ - here's a new face! lol, thanks so much for all the compliments! there are days when I wish I really _was _a professional writer (then I could just blow off school 'cause I need to "work" XD)... that would be cool. I wish I had a contact with a publisher or something... but then I'd be inciting all sorts of weird copyright infringements with this story, wouldn't I? yikes! anywho... (lol, CSAG is mucho Edward fanservice XD) thanks for reviewing! glad ya love my baby. :P

_Light Dragon SunsSong_ - heehee... your questions are to be answered right here and now! buwahahaa!

and now.. on with the new-ness!

* * *

**Chapter 33  
****Night Talks**

Alphonse fidgeted, shifting his weight anxiously from one leg to the other. He couldn't help it; finding out that his brother had been injured and sent to the hospital wing was enough to send him into just short of a panic. He'd been inside the Gryffindor common room playing with Crookshanks when Ginny ran in and bee-lined toward him. She hurriedly told him about how she'd just found out from a ghost that Draco Malfoy and Edward Elric had just been sent to the hospital wing.

He didn't even hesitate. Al had rushed out the portrait hole before Ginny could tell him exactly what had happened.

So there he was, standing in the hallway outside of the infirmary, trying to figure out if it was safe to go inside to see his brother yet. He'd seen Harry and Snape exiting the infirmary not long ago (neither one of them seemed to notice him as they passed), but the doors were shut and Al didn't know whether or not that meant visitation was allowed.

After a few more minutes he decided he'd take his chances. His concern for his older brother's well being was not an easy thing to suppress. He laid one hand on the door, carefully pushing it open and trying to remain as quiet as possible. Once the space was wide enough for Al's head to slip through, he peered into the room and looked around. The hospital wing looked deserted. The lights were dimmed, probably to help the patients rest. Deciding that his brother was probably asleep, Al took a step back, ready to leave, but then he caught a quick flash of blue light from behind the white curtain. Al would have smiled. He could recognize an alchemic reaction, no matter how small, from a mile away.

He was just about to fully enter when there was sudden, loud ruckus from down the hall outside the infirmary. It sounded like some sort of shrill wailing like that of a banshee or a siren. Al whirled around awkwardly, banging into the door and essentially throwing it wide open. He took a few steps away from the door and looked wildly up and down the corridor to see who was approaching. Soon enough, a pug-nosed girl with short dark hair in Slytherin robes turned one of the corners and began to run toward the infirmary.

"DRAKEYYYYY!" she was screaming. Al could've sworn there were tears in her eyes as she hurled herself into the hospital ward. "OH, _DRAKEY_!"

Al watched, somewhat dumbfounded, as the girl practically flew to the closed off area and threw back one of the curtains. Behind it was Draco, lying quite still on the bed with his eyes shut. He appeared to be fast asleep.

"Would you warn me before you go around screaming like that?!" yelled Ed from the other side of the room. "You coulda shattered my eardrums!"

The girl ignored him and continued to wail at the top of her lungs, both of her hands clasped over one of Draco's and her face buried into the mattress. Al couldn't help feeling somewhat relieved to have heard Ed's voice. If he had the energy to yell like that, then Ed was fine.

"Ex_cuse _me!" came the stern voice of Madam Pomfrey as she once again emerged from her office. "This is a hospital! Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Elric are still recovering, so would you kindly keep your voice down?!"

"Bloody hell, Pans. You screaming at the top of your lungs like that is only going to make Malfoy feel worse."

More teenagers in Slytherin robes had just strolled into the hospital ward, one of whom Al recognized to be Blaise Zabini. In an almost casual, nonchalant manner, they crossed the room to join the girl where she wept at Draco's bedside, ignoring the indignant expression clearly written across Madam Pomfrey's face.

"Ah, to wake to the screeching and wailing of Pansy Parkinson..." Blaise Zabini sighed mockingly, making an innocent face at the girl. "Pure bliss!"

Pansy paused to give Blaise a scathing look before proceeding to wail even harder.

One of two large, thick-set boys walking alongside Blaise seemed confused. "I dunno, Zabini," he mumbled. "Her voice hurts my ears."

Blaise laughed, dismissing the boy's failure to recognize his mockery. The tall, weedy-looking boy walking ahead of them looked irritated by it. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, turning back to Pansy. She was face-down on the mattress, sobbing dramatically.

"He's not _dead _yet, Pansy," he drawled.

"Oh, _shut up_, Theodore!" she shrieked. "He came dangerously close to it!"

Zabini turned to look at Ed and nodded at him in greeting, smirking slightly. "And how're you holding up, Elric?"

A pillow flew right into the black boy's face with a soft thump. "Just peachy."

Madam Pomfrey frowned disapprovingly. "All of you, keep your voices _down_!" she repeated, walking toward them. "They need to rest. All of this screaming and harassing will do them no good, I assure you! And Mr. Elric, I will not have you throwing pillows about!"

There was a displeased grunt from Ed's side of the room, followed by another thump as he flopped back into his mattress. None of the Slytherins seemed to care for Ed's discomfort or Madam Pomfrey's annoyance. They merely settled themselves around Draco's bed, prodding his sleeping figure and making fun of Pansy. Madam Pomfrey's frown deepened. She was just about to go over and forcibly kick them out when she realized that someone was still waiting by the entrance. She spun around on her heel and found Alphonse, standing awkwardly in the doorway, his hands clasped together in front of him.

"I suppose you want to visit Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Elric, too?"

"Well... Yes. I-If that's okay..." Madam Pomfrey frowned at him. "Please, ma'am?" His voice was gentle and insistent. "I... I'm Ed's brother."

Madam Pomfrey's expression softened slightly. She finally gave in, heaving an exasperated sigh. "I'll give you all _ten minutes_. After that, I'm going to have to force you out. _They need their rest_. Be sure to let those Slytherins know."

Al nodded meekly and walked forward. He wasn't sure what Draco's visitors would say or think when they saw him. The only one amongst them he had properly met (more or less, anyway) was Blaise Zabini, and Al had his doubts on whether or not the boy would remember him. Still, he made his way over to Ed's bedside.

Ed had been glowering at the Slytherins from across the room, silently wishing some swift yet painful fate to befall them within the next minute. He'd had no luck in the matter so far, though he should have guessed as much. Fate and fortune had never really favored Edward Elric. His expression notably lightened to one of mild surprise when Al pulled back the white curtain and stepped forward.

"Al? What're you...?"

"I heard you were in here, and... Is that medicine on your face, nii-san? You're... you're _cut_?! You're hurt!"

The light was immediately extinguished from Ed's face. "Very observant of you, Al..."

"Wh-What happened to you?!"

Ed raised his hands slightly and extended one out to Al. "Calm down, you're-"

Al looked down at Ed's hands and jumped. "Blood! Your gloves - Your _robes_!All covered in blood! What did you do?!"

"You're overreacting, Al! It's not all _my _blood, I'm fine, I swear!"

The younger brother's shoulders relaxed, and he looked up so that he was staring right into Ed's face. "But... what happened?"

Ed smiled sardonically. "You didn't hear? Sheesh, and here I thought the whole world knew every detail by now. It's almost been a full half hour! I guess the Hogwarts grapevine is slipping."

"Nii-san."

"All right, all right." He took a deep breath, preparing himself. "Pretty much-"

"It's _Potter's _fault!"

The Elric brothers turned to look at Pansy, who had suddenly raised her head and was now looking angrily at everyone that surrounded her. The other Slytherin boys had fallen silent at her sudden outburst, the prodding fingers of Zabini and one of the Crabbe/Goyles hovering uncertainly over Draco's forehead. She eventually set her furious gaze on Al, her face red in anger.

Al was confused. "What...?"

"I heard it all from that Moaning Myrtle!" she cried out hysterically. "She told us everything, the whole story! It was that horrible Potter! _He_ did this! He's always _hated _Drakey, I'm sure he was _jealous _of him! It's a _hate _crime, that's what this is, done for no reason at all! Oh, my poor Drakey, he's never done _anything _to him, but just look at the state he's in! Oh, look at his _wounds_ and his - his - Oh, _Merlin_! His _face_! His _beautiful face_!"

She gestured at the line of dittany that had been dabbed over the cut between Draco's eyes. Then, apparently unable to bear the idea of there being a flaw on Draco's marble skin, Pansy threw herself back down on the bed and cried some more. Al was even more confused and looked to Ed for help. Ed just rolled his eyes and shook his head in response.

"For one," drawled Nott, looking rather bored, "he's not _yours_. For another, it's just a scratch. He could be worse off than he is."

There was suddenly a malevolent glimmer in Nott's eyes as he looked at Draco. He sounded almost disappointed that the Malfoy heir wasn't dead.

"Besides," said one of the Crabbe/Goyles with a nonchalant shrug, "it might actually be a pretty cool looking-"

"Oh, don't _say _it!" Pansy hissed, slapping the boy on the arm. "That horrible word... Don't you _dare _even _think _it!"

Crabbe/Goyle blinked. "You mean 'scar'?"

Pansy let out another earth-shattering wail. Zabini and Nott started to laugh at her. Ed glared.

"Stupid, shallow, crazy ass..."

"Nii-san?"

Ed broke off his glare and looked back at Al, blinking as he recognized the worry in his tone and posture. "What?"

"Did... Is she telling the truth?" Al looked over at Pansy and Draco. Zabini had just said something that made the girl cry harder. "Did Mr. Harry really do this to you and Mr. Draco?"

Edward didn't answer. Instead, he lowered his eyes and stared intently into his lap. The Slytherin boys across the room all burst into laughter at something Nott had just said. After a moment had passed without any response, Al turned back toward his older brother.

"It... It must have been an accident. Right?"

He shut his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily.

"Mr. Harry would _never_-!"

"Al..."

"He wouldn't, nii-san, I _know _he wouldn't! You do too, don't you?!"

Ed finally raised his eyes to meet his little brother's. "_Alphonse_."

The tall suit of armor went slightly rigid. Ed never said his complete name unless he was formally introducing him or if he was deadly serious about something. Al knew that it was the latter situation this time. He quickly tried to pull himself together as he held Ed's stern gaze.

"It was an accident," Al repeated, more quietly this time. "It must have been."

"I dunno," Ed said after a moment, sighing and looking away again. "He said he didn't mean it, that he didn't know what it did, but still... He should've known better than to just jump in and try it, y'know?" He groaned and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Not that Malfoy was any better..."

Al's shoulders relaxed as he looked down at his older brother. "Nii-san..."

"All right, all of you," bellowed Madam Pomfrey from the other side of the infirmary, "your ten minutes are up! That is _quite _enough visitation for one night, I should think! It's time you leave Mr. Malfoy to his rest!"

She hurried over to the Slytherins, who had resumed prodding Draco as he slept, and made shooing gestures at them. Pansy raised her head to look at the head nurse and made a face.

"No one said anything about a time limit!" she sobbed.

Madam Pomfrey gave Al a look. Al bowed his head and stared abashedly at his feet.

"Well you had a good ten minutes, and now I must _insist _that you leave. You may come back in the morning if you like. Quickly now, out you go."

Blaise smirked slightly and hopped down from Draco's bed, gesturing to the others that it was time to leave. Ed rolled his eyes at the sight: Zabini had wasted no time in taking over Draco's position as the group's leader. Crabbe and Goyle forcibly tore Pansy away from the bed and dragged her off, still sobbing and wailing as she went. Zabini and Nott followed soon after, saying "good night" to Edward in the usual Slytherin manner, which involved a pillow being thrown at him. Ed caught the pillow before it hit his face and scowled after the boys as they left. Madam Pomfrey stood dutifully at the door, seeing all of them out. Once they had all gone, Ed let out an exhausted breath.

"Good riddance," he muttered, leaning back into his pillows. "Spoiled, immature idiots..."

Al laughed slightly. "Admit it, nii-san."

"Admit what?"

"That you like them." When Ed turned slightly toward him, a puzzled expression on his face, Al continued with a laugh. "You've all become friends, haven't you? Admit it!"

Ed's frown deepened and he looked up at the ceiling, scratching a spot on his unwounded cheek. "'Friends' is... such a _strong_ word. They're more like good acquaintances."

Al just laughed again. Ed shot him an annoyed look.

"What? They can't even visit a sick person properly! I'm supposed to find that endearing?! Gimme a break!"

The younger Elric would have grinned. He couldn't help remembering Hughes' frequent visits the last time Ed had been hospitalized. He knew that, even though Ed always complained that the lieutenant colonel was annoying, he'd sincerely enjoyed and appreciated the visits. As though he were able to read Al's mind, Ed quickly turned away, not wanting to help his perceptive younger brother realize that he'd just remembered the very same thing.

"At least they had the decency to come visit at all."

"Yeah, sure," Ed grumbled, freeing his hair from its braid only to pull it back into a simpler ponytail. "Their consciences are now clear."

"Mr. Elric," called Madam Pomfrey to Alphonse, her tone still strict and unyielding, "I'll have to ask you to leave now. Your little brother needs to recover in peace tonight."

A deep, rumbling growl escaped Ed's throat and Al quickly laid one hand on his shoulder and the other over his mouth to keep him from leaping out of the bed, cursing profusely and flailing his fists. Actually, the cursing still came out; it was just muffled considerably. Al nodded to the nurse, chuckling amusedly to himself.

"Okay, ma'am." He then turned back to Ed, who had resorted to growling in the general direction of the nurse's office with his hands clenched tightly around his blankets. Al released him. "Well... I guess I'll go now. She's right, nii-san. You need to rest."

"I'm perfectly _fine_." He glowered about his surroundings. "Man, I hate hospitals..."

"It's only for one night. Just go to sleep, and then leave when you get up in the morning. You're tired anyway, right?"

Once again, Ed frowned at the frightening perceptiveness of his younger brother. He wondered what would happen if he shut Al and Dumbledore in the same room for a day. For all Ed knew, they'd have wise, unspoken conversations the whole time.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, closing his eyes and allowing himself to sink deeper into his bed. _'At least the beds here are nice and soft...'_

Al nodded in approval and turned to go. "Try not to hurt the head nurse while you're here, okay?"

"All right already, quit worrying." His eyes still shut, Ed gave Al a toothy grin. "I'll be good."

The mischievous tone in Ed's voice made Al worry even more, but he couldn't do much with Madam Pomfrey waiting for him to leave the hospital wing. He glanced back at Ed one last time with a deep sigh of mock-aggravation (which made Ed laugh slightly) and then continued on his way out, drawing the white curtain shut. Al also laughed slightly, shaking his head and knowing that his older brother was a hopeless case.

Ed settled comfortably into his bed as Alphonse left and the lights dimmed again. He listened to Madam Pomfrey bustle back into her office and shut the door behind her. Then the room was silent, save for the soft sound of him and Draco breathing. He opened his eyes shortly after, letting them adjust to how dark the room now was while he stared at a spot on the ceiling. He looked over at Draco, apparently still asleep, his clothes covered in blood. He then raised his own blood-stained hands over his head so that he could see them.

_It was an accident_. Alphonse had insisted on it. But it was just so irresponsible of Harry to perform a spell that he wasn't familiar with. It was dangerous. Where did he learn that spell? How had he even known to pull it out and use it at all? A rush of impetuous anger seized Ed and he frowned, clenching his hands into fists.

"Edward?"

He jumped slightly into an awkward sitting position at the voice and turned to see who was there. Peering out from behind the white curtain, Ed could just make out the features of a face in the dim light. He blinked in surprise as he struggled to sit up properly.

"Hermione?"

She stepped forward, quickly looked him up and down, and then sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness! You're all right! Alphonse said you were injured!"

Ed rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. "Nothing to worry about, it's just a little scratch. Al must have been exaggerating again. He gets so dramatic sometimes..."

Hermione smiled slightly, wringing her hands and shifting her weight from one leg to the other. She seemed very anxious about something. Ed just waited, looking at her curiously.

"Harry... told us what happened."

Ed's smile instantly dropped off his face and he quickly averted his eyes.

"Well, what we could get out of him, anyways, he seemed quite shaken up."

"Oh."

He fell silent for a moment after that, staring at the edge of his bed. Hermione watched him anxiously, shifting uncomfortably in the tense, awkward silence. Right as she was about to speak up, Ed beat her to it.

"Tell him that next time he hears about some random spell and wants to try it out," he started, his voice biting and harsh in a fit of bitterness, "he should look up what it does beforehand. We won't always be around to be his guinea pigs."

Hermione frowned. "That's not fair, Edward."

Ed just shrugged, turning his blank stare to one of the empty beds nearby. Hermione let out an exasperated sigh, pushing some hair out of her face.

"I've already given him the reprimand of a lifetime, believe me. And he's already been punished by Snape and Professor McGonagall. Detention every Saturday for the remainder of the term-"

A soft, mirthless chuckle escaped him. "Good."

Hermione frowned again. She hesitated before speaking next, sorting things out in her head first. "Edward, Harry didn't know what the spell did, much less know what he was doing. I mean, of course it doesn't justify what he did to you and Malfoy, but... he really is very sorry."

Ed slowly turned to look back up at Hermione and studied the seriousness in her eyes. There was a familiar pleading behind it that was so similar to Al's it was uncanny.

_"It was an accident. Mr. Harry would never! I know he wouldn't! You do too, don't you?"_

Al's insistent voice once again echoed in Ed's mind. He took a deep breath, trying to push away the stubborn anger and be rational. Harry had been irresponsible in using a spell he'd never used before on them, but it _had _been a desperate moment. Draco almost used an Unforgivable Curse on him, after all. Ed should have been glad that he'd been stopped, regardless. He should have been grateful that, all things considered, they were still able to walk away from it, alive.

_"It was an accident. It must have been."_

He released a long, drawn out breath, as though he was expelling his anger from his system. Then he finally gave Hermione a small but genuine smile.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," he told her with a shake of his head. He thought back to the last time he was hospitalized. "I've been through worse. I guess it's not that big a deal or anything."

Hermione's eyebrows came together in concern. "It _is _a big deal." She then sighed, her expression lightening. "But I'm just so relieved you're all right."

Ed's smile grew a little bit and he slowly looked away again. Hermione lowered her eyes down to her hands, chewing on her lower lip.

"So... er... How is he?"

He turned back to Hermione, blinking in confusion. "Who?"

"Dra - I mean..." She shook her head slightly, her eyes still lowered. "Malfoy. Is... Is he doing okay? I mean, I heard he was seriously hurt and..." She drew in a deep breath. "Oh, I don't know... Will he be all right?"

Ed briefly glanced over at Draco. "Well... Madam Pomfrey says he'll be fine, just needs to rest."

Hermione closed her eyes and let out what sounded like a breath of relief. At that, Ed looked back at Hermione and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He studied her face for a moment, noting the visible relaxing of her pose and expression.

"Why?" The question was drawn out slowly, with an overwhelming sense of curiosity. "What's with the sudden worrying? I thought you didn't really like Malfoy."

"Well, not to the point of wanting him fatally injured!" Hermione answered, frowning at Ed in what seemed to be disapproval. She then said, in a softer voice, "I wouldn't want that for anyone... not even him."

Ed gave her a funny look, not quite sure he'd caught what she just said. "What?"

She looked back up at Ed in surprise, as though she'd forgotten he was there. She then started talking very quickly. "I mean, from what Harry said, it sounded rather... severe. I-I wouldn't want Harry to get into any more trouble than he's already in."

She once again looked back down at her feet and chewed on her lower lip. Ed continued to study her, the skeptical look on his face unchanged. Why on earth would Hermione care about how badly Draco had been hurt? It was of no real concern or consequence to her. It wasn't like they were friends-

Ed's eyes grew wide in realization. His face slowly cracked into a wry smile. "Reeeally..."

Hermione looked back at Ed. Her eyebrows came together. "Why are you looking at me that way?"

With the smile still secure on his face, Ed looked away in a gesture of innocence. "Oh, no real reason..."

The Gryffindor quickly averted her eyes, taking a deep breath as she began to realize the awkwardness of her position. When she turned back to Ed, ready to leave the ward, he was giving her the same wry look as before, his smile having now dissolved into a smirk.

"Stop it!" she demanded. "It's making me feel uncomfortable."

Edward laughed slightly. "Sorry 'bout that."

"No you're not," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. She heaved a sigh. "Well, seeing as you and Malfoy are both in one piece, and Harry managed not to kill anybody, I'd better be going now."

She nodded her head as an almost curt gesture of goodbye and turned to go. Ed leaned forward on his knees, resting his chin in one hand as he watched Hermione leave. He couldn't help but be amused by this sudden turn of events. He stole a quick glance in the direction of Draco's bed.

It looked as though he'd just found the silver lining. _'I'll have to remember to actually thank Harry for this.'_

"Y'know, Hermione," he called after her, making her stop and turn back around, "if you really want the reassurance... He's right across from me."

A look of confusion played across Hermione's face. "Who?"

The amused smirk returned. "Draco."

Hermione blinked. "Huh?" She turned quickly, as though meaning to look for herself, and then turned back as she changed her mind. Her bushy hair whipped into her face and she had to push it away again as she recomposed herself. "Oh no, that's all right. Your word is good enough, Edward."

Ed's smirk grew. "Whatever you say, Hermione."

"Yes. Anyway. I ought to go." She nodded, reconfirming her earlier decision to leave. Hermione turned around once more and quietly headed for the door.

"Wait a second."

She stopped again and, heaving yet another great sigh, turned back to face Ed. There was a light blush on his face as he stared down at the foot of his bed, as though that's where he would find what he wanted to say. This wasn't really something he was accustomed to, nor did he think he was particularly good at doing, but he knew that he should do it all the same. He scratched the back of his neck and laughed a little awkwardly.

"Um... Thanks. For coming to see me. I mean, I don't usually get a lot of visitors when I'm hurt or sick. Besides Al, anyway."

He mentally rolled his eyes. Slacker Amestrian military staff, so-called "bodyguards," and mechanics didn't count. They were all stern frowns and business. Or just downright annoying.

Hermione smiled. "Oh, it's not a problem. You're my friend, and I was worried."

Ed looked over at Hermione, somewhat surprised at what she'd said. He couldn't help but smile back. Hermione Granger really was an amazing person. He was really glad that she considered him a friend. She was probably one of the only real ones he'd made since arriving at Hogwarts.

"Yeah..." He grinned slightly and glanced over at Draco again. "Y'know... Draco could really use someone like you in his life. It would do him some good."

Hermione suddenly looked a bit startled. "Er... I suppose he could." Her eyes briefly darted in Draco's direction and then turned back to the floor. She sighed sadly. "Though I doubt he'd let anyone in. Least of all someone like me." When she glimpsed the mild confusion that had just appeared in Ed's eyes, she sighed again. "I'm Muggle-born, remember?"

The confusion melted off Ed's face, replaced with a stern, solemn look. This again. He was so tired of the shallow, idiotic House rivalries and the way Pansy's nose wrinkled in disgust whenever someone mentioned the Gryffindors. He was so sick of these wizards and their obsession with "blood purity." He hated the social racism that was so prominent in their society. It fueled Voldemort's teachings, brought legions of followers to his side. It had to be stopped.

"Hermione," he said, his voice just as solemn and firm as his expression. "You don't have to take that. Don't buy into the Slytherins' bullshit about 'purebloods' and 'filth.' You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Blood purity or whatever shouldn't be an issue. And Draco's a total moron if he can't look past that."

The young Gryffindor looked up at Ed in shock, blinking slowly as his words sank into her mind. Then her expression changed again, this time into a soft, warm smile.

"Thanks, Edward. That's... That's very sweet of you to say."

"Well, it's the truth," Ed replied with a helpless shrug. "But you're welcome."

Still smiling warmly, Hermione walked back to Ed's bedside, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He blushed and offered her another genuine smile as she moved away, tucking some of her bushy hair behind one ear.

"Good night, Edward."

"Night, Hermione."

She nodded her head slightly and quietly crossed the room to leave. Ed yawned loudly as the door swung shut and leaned back into his pillows. The past hour of his life had really taken quite a toll on him and Ed felt he owed it to himself to finally get some sleep. He adjusted himself to find a more comfortable position on the bed and quietly waited for sleep to claim him at last.

* * *

The next time Ed opened his eyes, it was still night. This fact irritated him, since he preferred to sleep in as much as he could when he had the luxury to. He groaned and shifted slightly so that he could get a better look around the room. The lights in the ward had been turned off and the only sources of illumination were the tall, arched windows lining the walls and the torrents of pale silver moonlight that flooded through the glass. Ed blinked drowsily and rolled over in bed, wanting nothing more than to go right back to sleep. He pulled himself up slightly to fix the pillows, punching them softly to fluff them up. He was just about to flop back into them and continue snoring when he caught a glimpse of something move out of the corner of his eye. He blinked again, starting to feel a little more awake, and turned his head so that he was facing Draco's bed. 

Draco was sitting up in bed, seemingly staring out the window, his face blank. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, the fingers of one hand entangled in his long, wispy platinum-blonde hair. The stream of moonlight fell over his features, sharpening them dramatically, making him look almost like a marble statue of some Greek adonis. What gave him away as a living, breathing human being was the occasional frustrated sigh that escaped him.

Ed just looked at him for a moment, propping himself up with his arms and wondering what time it was and how long they had been asleep.

"You're finally awake," he managed to mumble, stifling a yawn.

The Slytherin didn't say anything in response and merely continued to stare blankly out the window. Ed shrugged to himself, looking away with another yawn.

"Don't touch the goop on your face," he said again as he stretched out his limbs. "Madam Pomfrey said it's supposed to set in to bring down the scarring or something."

Silence. Ed ran a hand through his hair, sighing.

"Though I guess it's not really like that's necessary... So long as you don't pick at a scab, there shouldn't be too bad a scar. That's common knowledge."

More silence. He glanced over at the red bottle on Draco's bedside.

"And I'm guessing you're supposed to take some of that stuff every now and again." He gestured to the bottle. "Blood-Replenishing Potion, I think..."

Ed raised an eyebrow as he looked at Draco again. He wondered if the Slytherin had heard a single word he'd said. He shrugged to himself and scratched an itch on the back of his head.

"Makes sense, I guess. You _did _kinda lose a lot of blo-"

"As touching as your concern for me is, Elric," interrupted Draco, his voice soft but harsh, "do you honestly think it matters anymore?"

Ed blinked, a little caught off guard at having been cut off. "What are you talking about? Think _what _matters anymore?"

Draco slowly shifted his position so that he was facing Ed. A single silver eye could be seen glaring across the room at him through the veil of pale hair and the dark shadows over Draco's face.

"You really have no idea how you've fucked things up, do you?"

His golden eyes grew wider in his head and he drew in a sharp breath. He could feel his mouth suddenly go dry. All he could do was hold Draco's angry gaze.

"You should have just let Potter finish me off... You didn't have to interfere."

With that, he hid his eyes again and turned away. A powerful feeling of anger coursed through Ed's veins as he looked at Draco. He sat up straighter, clenching his blankets in his fists.

"Let him finish you off? I saved you, you're lucky to still be alive! What good do you think dying would do you, huh?"

"What don't you get, Elric?" Draco snapped, pushing his hand the rest of the way through his hair and keeping his face hidden in shadow. "If Potter had killed me... this whole thing would be over! My... My loyalties, obligations, duty... it wouldn't matter anymore! I wouldn't have to endure this pain and torment any longer!"

"Big words," Ed growled, "considering you sounded terrified of being killed a little while ago."

"I'd rather it were Potter than _him_."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "So dying's the way out, huh? You think it's the big solution to everything?! That's just running away! It won't make those problems disappear, it'll just-!"

Draco raised his head and faced Edward, frustration clearly etched into his face. "Elric, you have no idea! None at all! I have nothing left in my life anymore, there's nothing left to live for. I'm only alive because they tell me I'm alive. I only exist because they say I exist. My heart will keep pumping, my blood will run through my veins, but my spirit is wasting away. What you don't understand, Elric, is that I should have died a long time ago..." He dropped his voice so that it was dangerously soft. "But you... because of you and your meddling... you slowed the fucking process down."

The frown on Ed's face deepened. For a long moment he was silent and just looked back at Draco, his face firmly set. The rage continued to seethe quietly through his being. He was furious that Draco thought that way. Part of him was further enraged by the fact that it was a feeling that he himself was terribly familiar with.

"What about your mom?" he said quietly.

It was Draco's turn to deepen his frown. He tightly clenched his jaw and continued to hold Ed's angry stare.

"Well?" Ed prompted. "You still have your mom to live for, don't you? With your dad in prison, you're all she has left. What do you think will happen to her if you died, if you let yourself get killed? Especially by something as idiotic as a rivalry brawl with Harry Potter in the bathroom at school?"

"If you'd have let Potter finish me off, she would have still lived!" Draco argued hotly. "But since I _didn't _die, a great big fucking thanks to _you_, Elric, I'm back in my previous dilemma! My mother... if I fail this assignment, she'd be as good as dead anyway. If I succeed, I'll be wishing _I _was dead!"

"_Death won't help_," Ed snapped, raising his voice. "It'll just make things worse. If you die then you've given up. You've failed, and if you fail then your mom gets killed. The only reason she's being kept alive is to get used as leverage on you. Do you really think they'd just let her live when they have no more use for her? Your lives are expendable to him! At least while you're alive, you have the ability and the chance, the option, to _do _something to change things."

His fists were now so tightly clenched around his blanket that his knuckles had gone white underneath his gloves. He still vividly remembered when he was the one being scolded for choosing to be killed to save another's life. It had seemed so logical at the time: his death in exchange for the safety of his only family, the most important person in his life. But as Al had pointed out to him, such an act was stupid and selfish. There was no guarantee that the promise would be carried out, and once he was dead, there was nothing he could do about it either way. As long as there was a chance, some tiny glimmer of hope... That would always be enough to keep living for.

"Letting yourself die would mean throwing away that chance. And there's no one in this world that'll forgive you if you do that."

For a long moment they were both silent, Draco's head bowed so that shadows concealed his face. At length he spoke, but his voice was so soft that Ed had to strain to make out the words.

"No, Elric..." He paused to draw in a deep, shuddering breath. "Letting myself die means letting someone else have the chance to live." He raised his head to look at Ed with a desperate pain gleaming in his silver eyes. "And right now, that's all that really matters to me."

Ed's heart stopped for a moment when he saw the expression in Draco's eyes. A familiar pain panged through him, beating out his anger. Memories resurfaced of when he could have sworn he'd lost Al forever, of kneeling in the rain before a serial alchemist killer, exchanging his life for Al's... He sighed, running a hand through his long hair in frustration.

"Equivalent exchange, huh?" he murmured bitterly to himself. "Man, I know how that feels... But exchanging one life for another... can never be considered equivalent..."

Draco hadn't heard his soft murmurings and, after a period of silence, spoke again. His voice was even softer than before, and his tone practically exuded hopelessness. It was as though one could hear Draco's heart plummeting a few more feet with every syllable.

"I need her to be alive," he whispered, "to stay alive. And I had to live in order to make sure she would be okay. Safe from harm." He closed his eyes and took in a deep, painful breath. "You have no clue how it feels to know that you no longer have control over her security. Back then, when Lucius was still the Dark Lord's right hand man, they'd discussed what they should do with her... she was a major asset to Potter. I told my father day in and day out that I would take care of it. Leave it to me. But now..." Draco let out a humorless, bitter laugh, as though he were unable to believe the strange irony of his circumstances. "Lucius is in Azkaban. Things have changed. It's in the Dark Lord's hands now what happens to her. And I have no say in the matter any longer."

And his shoulders slumped, his face once again hidden in the deep shadows by his glowing, moonlit hair. Ed watched him carefully, expectantly, waiting for Draco's pride to resurface. It never did. He tore his eyes away and stared down at his hands as they clenched and unclenched around his hospital bed blanket.

"So what? That's it?!" he growled, getting upset again. "You're gonna give up, just like that?!"

There was another moment of tense, drawn out silence. Ed felt another flare of anger and he turned his eyes upward again so that he could set a decent glare on Draco, but the feeling was immediately washed away as memories flashed before him again. His grip on the blanket tightened even more. It seemed like a miracle that the fabric of his gloves had yet to rip.

"It's hopeless..." Ed just barely made out the words from Draco's disheartened whisper. "Hopeless..."

Ed's features softened sympathetically and he lowered his gaze again. He released the blanket from his death grip as a deep sadness settled in.

"You know something?" he said sadly, his voice just over a whisper. "More than once, I was ready to give up everything I had to protect someone. I was ready to die if it meant he'd have even the slightest chance of staying alive... Sometimes I thought staying alive was just too hard... Living with so many burdens on my shoulders... It would've been easier to just give up. But..." He took a deep breath and chuckled softly, almost bitterly to himself. "I couldn't afford to do that. No one would let me. No one wanted me to. So I never did."

Without raising his eyes, Draco slowly shook his head. "No," he murmured, once again so quiet that it sounded like he was talking more to himself than to Edward. "This is different, you don't understand... You don't know..."

"Maybe," Ed said with a frown. "I don't know much about Voldemort and I'm still figuring out how this - how this part of the world works, but... But if there's one thing I've learned, from everything I've ever been through, it's that you can't just give up without a fight. There's too much at stake here for you to just surrender."

"Have you not been listening to me, Elric?" Draco hissed, his eyes lifting to meet with Ed's. His gaze was so filled with pain that it was hard to hold. "I don't have even an ounce of the influence that I somehow had when Lucius was free! There's absolutely nothing I can do! No matter what I do, we're all going to end up dead..."

"There's gotta be _something_-"

"Like _what_, Elric?! There's nothing I can do for her anymore." It almost sounded like Draco was sobbing. "I'm all out of options... If you're as damn brilliant and wise as you claim to be, care to enlighten me?"

Ed opened his mouth to argue back, ready to suggest an alternative, a way to fight against Voldemort without getting anybody killed, but his voice caught in his throat. He was drawing a blank. A complete, hopeless looking blank. He wracked his brain for an extra minute, trying to come up with some kind of plan, but to no avail. Then, quietly, Draco lapsed back into his previous position, staring hopelessly out the window and falling into a silent vigil.

The young alchemist stared down at the foot of his bed. He swallowed anxiously, feeling something weigh heavily down on his being. What if it really was as hopeless a situation as Draco was saying? What if-

_'No.'_

Edward violently shoved the doubt away. He couldn't afford to feel that way. He would think of something. Somehow, someway... That much he was sure of. He just couldn't understand why his mind, usually full of plans and formulas and ideas, had suddenly become so blank.

* * *

**Author's Note:** more _infinite _thanks to MJade-1 and her brilliant writing prowess, for helping me out with Hermione and Draco. :) 

(phew) so this chapter started out nice and refreshing. I feel like it's been forever since the last time I had all the Slytherins together and interacting like this. And this is probably one of those few times that Pansy really cracks me up. XD "his face! his beautiful face!" Damn, these Slytherins are hilarious. And Al! Oh man, I've missed that boy. I'm happy to have been able to write about him again, too. :D oh, and the "friends is such a… _strong _word" line is my little tip of the hat to Disney's _Aladdin: Return of Jafar_. It's something that Iago says several times… it just strikes me as very in character for Edward to say. :P

On another note, this chapter started out nice and light, and then suddenly got stuck with a very heavy weight to hold. This is a very important conversation between Ed and Draco, and it does, in a sense, break down quite a huge barrier. Not to say they're _friends_… far from it. But… yeah. There's some pretty intense conversation topics in there.

So… as always, please review! It may take another while before the next chapter is up, sorry to say... but your infinite patience with me has earned you all this one. :D


	34. Full Steel Lies

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

**Author's Note:** just a short chapter this time. I would have included more, but there isn't a whole lot more that really _goes _with what's happening in this chapter. So I'm keeping it short, which is kinduva nice change from all the long chapters we've been having recently.

Omg… y'know, just from reading everyone's reviews, I get like, a million brain blasts of ideas from all the suggestions and it's like, creative onslaught. And it eats me up because some of them are just _really cool _ideas, but I know that I can't use them! you know I love you guys. Like, so much. :) I'm totally craving having a scene where Ed tears his clothes off… but that'd just be pure fanservice… and he does that often enough in the anime that I really should be satisfied… but it'd be so amazing. _(and the crazed Ed Elric fangirl in me raises her head, only to be smacked back down)_

**(from the anime) Ed:** _(tears off his top) _IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?!  
**Hordes of fangirls:** YES!!!  
**Ed: **_(sweatdrops) _Oh shit.

o-kaaay, that's _quite _enough out of me. enjoy your reading!

**

* * *

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**_Chapter 34  
_Full Steel Lies**

Ed shifted his weight onto his prosthetic leg, trying to keep his expression as passive as he could under the circumstances. He didn't like the smell of Professor Snape's office (there were too many weird things decorating the place) and was extremely annoyed to find himself standing in the middle of it. Snape himself was seated at his desk, rifling through papers that were scattered about his desk and ignoring the fact that Ed was there at all. But Ed knew exactly what he was doing: he was killing time in order to rack up Ed's nerves before he finally spoke with him. He was taking an exceptionally long amount of time doing so since Snape could tell that it wasn't quite working on the boy. Ed just let the professor go about his "business," waiting with a surprising amount of patience for their little discussion to begin.

The past twelve hours hadn't exactly been the most pleasant hours of Edward's life. He hadn't been able to sleep very well after talking to Draco: his thoughts just darted haphazardly around his head as he tried to find some way to help him, but continued to draw a blank. Even the few moments in which he'd managed to sleep, his dreams had been filled with the most bizarre images of Voldemort, wands, and random, unfamiliar words. Unable to make any kind of sense out of his restless thoughts, Ed had gotten out of the hospital bed that morning in a horrible mood.

Neither one of the boys had gotten up until it was well into first period. Madam Pomfrey re-examined them both all the same, removing the layer of dittany that covered their freshly healed wounds and giving them both one last check-up. It seemed that both Ed and Draco were going to have to deal with their new facial scars. They weren't _too _noticeable, however, and neither one of them really minded. Ed was confident they would disappear over time. As for Draco, the faint diagonal line between his eyes actually did make him look pretty cool, just as Crabbe/Goyle had said the night before. Because his injury was much less serious, only Edward was released from the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey assured him Draco would be along by the weekend.

As soon as he entered the common room, a flock of Slytherin girls (not a single one of whom Ed recognized) descended on him from all sides. And, despite his numerous attempts to escape, started to pester and bombard him with questions. What happened? Where was Draco? Would he be alright? Did Ed need anything? A drink, some food, the company of a woman? That last one was posed by one of Zabini's other pervert friends, and had made Ed shudder. He gave short, precise answers and refusals, trying very hard to control his temper and not punch anyone in the face.

The commotion finally died down to idle chatter, with Ed on one of the couches and still in the center of it all. The Slytherins assured him that Harry Potter would be rightfully and relentlessly jeered at in the hallways by all the Slytherins. Though this notion didn't strike Edward as being any different from their usual behavior toward the boy. He almost told them not to bother with that, but stopped himself. That would've been really bad. And besides, he was sure that Harry was now used to being taunted by the Slytherins all the time. But when he later heard about how angry his fellow Gryffindors were upon finding that their team's Quidditch captain couldn't play in the final match of the year, Ed couldn't help but start feeling sorry for him.

Though Ed's situation wasn't much better. The moment second period was over and before they could make their way to the Great Hall for lunch, some random lower year Slytherin handed Ed one of the most unpleasant notes he'd ever received. He'd been summoned to visit Snape in his office. Knowing that there was simply no way out of it, he grudgingly obeyed. He had, after all, practically been ordered to see the Head of Slytherin once he was released from Madam Pomfrey's care. Which was how he had arrived at that precise, uncomfortable moment in time.

Snape finally pushed everything to one side and settled his dark gaze on Edward. "Alright, Elric. Explain."

_'Doesn't hesitate at all, does he? No wonder Voldemort holds him in such high regard.'_ "Explain what, sir?"

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to feign innocence with me, it won't do you any good." When Edward still didn't reply and continued to set him with the same firm, passive look as before, he elaborated. "What's happened to your arm?"

"It got scratched up and wounded by Potter's spell," Ed answered without missing a beat.

"Your _right_ arm."

"I was talking about my right arm, sir."

This lack of cooperation on Ed's part was obviously setting Snape into an even fouler mood than before. "_Why _is your right arm made of metal?"

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "It was an accident a few years ago. That's all."

"What sort of accident?"

"A bad one."

The professor rose slowly from his seat, his eyes flashing angrily. "I'll make this _very clear_, Mr. Elric. If you continue to sass me and choose not to answer my questions directly, I can hold you as a liability and a threat to the safety of the students and to this school."

Ed fought down a snort of laughter. A threat to the school? He'd never felt more flattered in his life, especially not by someone who knew next to nothing about him. Still, he put on an innocent frown and gave Snape a worried, confused look.

"Have I hurt anybody since coming here, sir?"

Snape scowled. A feeling of triumph welled up in Ed's chest at the sight.

"So that's a 'no'."

"I believe I have a right to know the truth about you, Elric."

"No offense, professor," Ed drawled, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "but I don't see how my having a mechanical limb is of any concern or consequence to you."

"As your Head of House, I will be held responsible for your actions-"

"Actually, I think Professor Dumbledore is the one responsible for me, since he's the one that oversaw my transfer to Hogwarts."

Clearly agitated by Ed's responses, Snape plunged a hand into his robes and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid. He held it up in front of him so Ed could see it.

"Do you know what this is, Elric?"

The young alchemist coolly shifted his gaze onto the bottle and surveyed it for a moment. It looked like plain water to him. "Veritaserum?"

Snape's eyes seemed to glitter with dark amusement. "It seems that head of yours is actually capable of absorbing knowledge. Well then, since you know what it is, you _must _be aware of exactly what it does."

"The use of Veritaserum is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines," Ed deadpanned, looking directly into Snape's face. "Using that on me without the proper authorization or documentation would result in some not too pleasant punishments for you, wouldn't it, sir?"

Professor Snape scowled. "I doubt getting authorization for your interrogation would be difficult if I were to tell the Ministry of your body's mysterious condition."

"How do you figure that?"

"With the rise of the Dark Lord the Ministry has been in a state of high alert all year, searching for his supporters. Surely they would be interested to hear about a foreign boy with a mechanical limb infiltrating Hogwarts." One of Snape's eyebrows arched slightly. "I would have expected someone like you to have known that much, Elric."

Ed took in a deep breath through his nostrils. It suddenly dawned on him that he wasn't sure of whether or not the Ministry of Magic knew about his being in Hogwarts. As far as he knew, his whole situation had been set up with the Amestrian military by the headmaster alone. And Ed hated to admit it, but Snape was right. If he was indeed an unchecked presence in the school and they found about him, things were likely to rapidly spiral downhill. Ed cursed mentally. His little game to annoy Snape hadn't run for very long; then again he hadn't really expected it to. But he also hadn't expected the game to turn on him like this; now _he _was starting to get annoyed.

"If you think that my having a metal arm means I've used some weird Dark Art or that it's a sign of me being in league with Voldemort-"

"_Do not say his name_!" Snape hissed as he slammed the vial onto his desk as hard as he could without shattering it. The glitter of amusement in his eyes was gone.

Edward stopped abruptly in favor of giving the professor a long, curious, questioning look. At length he dismissed it. He supposed he should have expected such; after all, Snape was a Death Eater. He was probably more used to hearing people refer to Voldemort as "Master." Ed sniffed irritably and shifted his weight.

"If you think I'm on his side then you're way off." He stopped there, but upon noting the grim expression on Snape's face, he added, almost as an afterthought, "Professor."

There was a pause in which they glowered at one another over Snape's desk. Then finally, Snape spoke again, slowly and deliberately. "Then explain. What happened to your arm."

Ed hesitated. "I prefer not to talk about it."

"Why is that?"

"Because it's a sensitive subject."

There was another beat of silence between them, during which they simply continued to hold each other's hard gazes. Ed clenched his jaw, trying not to look as angry as he felt. He wanted to leave that office. He didn't feel the need to explain himself to Professor Snape of all people. After a moment Snape sank back into his seat, his eyes never leaving Ed's face.

"And that's why you've hidden the condition of your arm from the entire school?"

"Not from the entire school," Ed muttered. "Obviously Professor Dumbledore knows."

"Well then, since you've told the headmaster, there should be no problems whatsoever in telling me."

Ed frowned. "I trust Professor Dumbledore."

Snape quirked an eyebrow. "And Professor Dumbledore trusts me."

The young alchemist resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _'Can't imagine why...' _"Then why hasn't he already told you about my arm?"

"I can only assume he is taking your feelings on such a 'sensitive subject'-" He sneered slightly as he echoed Ed's words. "-into account. It seems he would prefer I hear it directly from you."

Edward took another deep breath through his nostrils to calm himself. So he'd already gone to ask Dumbledore about the issue. Fine. If Snape wanted to hear the story that badly, then he might as well give it to him. Ed lowered his eyes so that he was no longer staring into Snape's face, but at one of the piles of parchment on his desk. He hesitated for a second to arrange his thoughts so that they made sense before speaking.

"I... Growing up, my home country was in a state of war. There was an uprising in the eastern region, a sort of... civil rebellion near my hometown. Led to a lot of fighting. A lot of death. Some really terrible, bloody battles took place in those days. Let's just say that one day, one of those battles came a little too close to home."

He glanced back up into Snape's face, hoping that this vague explanation would be enough. Apparently not. The older man's tight lipped frown was a clear prompt to continue. The corners of Ed's lips pulled down into an equally displeased frown. Back in Amestris he was never asked to say more than that, since people had a tendency to fill the blanks in on their own. This was one of very few times he'd been made to elaborate further. He fought down a frustrated sigh and quickly tried to remember the rest of his story. Consistency was everything.

"We were little at the time, so we didn't really understand what was going on. So we were-"

"'We'?"

Ed paused, slightly disoriented at being interrupted. "Me, my little brother, some friends."

Snape gave a shallow nod of comprehension. Ed continued.

"We were out playing on the hillside, and... There was an explosion. It hit close, so naturally we got scared and decided to go home, but then another one came and..." Ed dropped his gaze again, making a pained face and gripping his right arm with his left. "Well, we kinda got caught up in it. A big chunk of shrapnel flew out and lodged into my shoulder. Right here." He demonstrated, tracing a finger over an imaginary line that went over the ball of his right shoulder and almost reached his armpit. "Practically shattered the bone, made my right arm completely useless. Plus, since we couldn't make it to a proper doctor in time, it got badly infected and had to be amputated. Later, I was fitted with this prosthetic. And that's what happened." As he reached the end of his cover story, he raised his eyes again to give Snape a pointed, challenging look. "Happy?"

The professor was silent for a time, his expression cold and analytical. "You didn't think to re-grow the arm with a Skele-Gro potion?"

"It happened before I was accepted to the magic academy. And I wouldn't have known how to brew that potion either way."

Snape paused for a moment to scrutinize him. With a jolt, Ed suddenly wondered if he'd said something that didn't fit. "And so what is stopping you from taking Skele-Gro now?"

"Are you kidding?!" Ed cried, completely forgetting to remain polite. Snape narrowed his eyes at the outburst. Luckily, Ed managed to keep himself from going on in that manner and quickly recomposed himself. "After all this time, I've gotten used to the mechanical arm. And besides, that's eight hours of pain that I can live without."

"Surely the pain would be worth it in the long run, Elric."

Ed frowned. Of course it would. It would be nice to have an arm and leg of flesh again, but re-growing them through magic was out of the question. The way Ed saw it, that was cheating and utterly defeated the purpose of his journeys. He wanted his _old _arm and leg back, the ones he'd been born with. Not new ones. And more importantly than that, he wanted to get Al's original body back first. Until then, he didn't even have the right to think about restoring himself.

"Really, sir," he said evenly. "I'm fine as I am."

Snape didn't relinquish his stern gaze. He continued to watch Ed with a piercing look, as though he were trying to see right through him. Edward ran his hand up and down his right arm in a nervous gesture, allowing his curious eyes to dart around Snape's office. He wondered briefly if Snape was trying to read his mind. For all he knew, Snape had that sort of ability. Ed wasn't about to take any chances and tried to push all conspicuous thoughts out of his conscious mind. He thought instead about his empty stomach and his desire for food and sleep.

As though on cue, Ed's stomach rumbled and growled loudly. He didn't have to fake the mildly embarrassed blush on his face as he glanced back up at Snape. "If that's all you want from me, sir, I'd like to go have lunch now."

The professor stayed silent, but Ed decided that he was free to leave. He forced himself to bow very slightly in Snape's direction before turning to exit the office. He'd barely laid a hand on the doorknob when Snape spoke.

"I'll be keeping a _very _close eye on you, Elric," he said in a solemn voice. "Don't think you've escaped me just yet."

Ed glanced back at Snape over his shoulder. "Of course not. I wouldn't dream of it, sir."

He nodded to the professor in a goodbye gesture, then quickly opened the door and slipped out. A slight scowl marred the older man's face as he did so. Once he was safe on the other side of the doors, Ed let out a deep breath of relief. He patted his still-growling stomach lightly, as though to inform it that it would be amply rewarded for its expert timing. Then he slipped his hands into his pockets and casually made his way up to the Great Hall for his meal.

No sooner had he emerged from the stairwell to the dungeon than he encountered the familiar, albeit gloomy looking face of Harry Potter. They both stopped rather abruptly when they saw one another, and a tense, awkward atmosphere descended over the corridor. Ed's expression became stony, revealing nothing of his thoughts at the moment. Harry became visibly nervous.

"Hey," Ed deadpanned at last.

"H-Hi... Ed."

As Ed continued to look at Harry, he realized that the Gryffindor's eyes kept darting down toward his right arm and then back up into his face. He didn't move. He was partly curious to see if Harry was going to say or do anything. And maybe it was because he'd just been stuck in a room with Snape (or maybe it was because he was starving and missing out on lunch), but he couldn't help feeling the need to be exceptionally horrible to everybody for the day: Ed sort of enjoyed making the poor Gryffindor feel uncomfortable.

Harry squirmed for a minute before finally opening his mouth to speak. "I-"

Ed swiftly cut him off, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh. He decided against turning into Severus Snape. It would ruin his appetite, and he _really _needed to eat.

"I know. It's okay."

A pair of bright emerald green eyes blinked at him in shock. "'Okay'?" he echoed incredulously. "How can anything about what happened be okay?"

The blonde merely shrugged, a mysterious smile dancing on his lips. "I've been through worse, believe me."

"It doesn't matter..." Harry shut his eyes for a moment and slowly shook his head. He took a deep breath as he looked back up. "I could've killed you, Ed."

Ed almost wanted to laugh. It wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to off him. "Well, good thing you didn't, huh?"

Harry's eyebrows knitted together, his face settling into a disconcerted frown. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?"

"Because I've had it worse, Harry," Ed replied with another slight shrug. He resumed walking toward the Great Hall, closing the distance between himself and the young Gryffindor. "It's no big deal. We walked away from it, didn't we? All I got were a couple o' measley scratches."

"And... your arm..."

Harry's words stopped Ed cold in his tracks. His golden eyes narrowed and the casual smile that had been on his face fell right off in an instant. He'd come to a halt just inches past Harry. He could just see the boy's features out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, Ed turned his head to face Harry fully.

"What about it?"

The seriousness in Ed's eyes made Harry falter slightly. "I-"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Ed said quickly, before another word could escape the other boy's mouth. He didn't wanna go through this again, not after Snape. "It was an accident that happened a long time ago, end of story."

Harry held Ed's gaze. "I wasn't going to ask what happened to it..." He gave a shallow shrug. "I didn't think you'd tell me the truth anyway. I just wanted to apologize..."

"For what? I already told you, didn't I?" Ed scoffed, turning back to look toward his destination. The words came out sounding much too harsh, even in Ed's ears. There was none of the warmth that had been in Ed's voice just moments before. Catching himself, he sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes before speaking again, more gently this time. "I already told you. It's fine, I forgive you for what happened so long as you _never _do anything that stupid again."

Harry sighed as well. "It was stupid, I agree. But Malfoy... He's alright?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. He'll be back on his feet soon enough, quit worryin'."

"Right. Sorry." Now Harry nodded, as though confirming the fact to himself. Then he turned in the opposite direction. "Well, I've got to be getting back. And don't worry," he added quickly. "I won't tell anyone about your arm. I didn't think it was something you'd want to be waving around anyway."

As Harry started walking off, still turned half-way so that he was looking back at him, Ed managed a grin. He was sure Harry knew all about being in the center of a bad rumor.

"Thanks. Glad to hear it."

Still grinning slightly, he gave Harry a short nod of approval before turning back around, resuming his walk to the Great Hall. It was nice to find some semblance of peace beginning to settle in over Harry and himself.

But peace has a funny way of not lasting for very long.

**

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**

**Author's Note:** okay, completedness! Like I said, it's short, but it gets its point across and that's good enough for me. Draco, by the way, now looks like a blonde version of Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII (look him up, if you don't know him). Which makes him a whole lot more awesome and attractive, in our opinion (please don't hate us! we're just a bunch of crazy girls, after all, we can't help but noticing these things...). :P As for the confrontation… obviously Ed's not going to tell the truth about his arm – it's not exactly something he likes to discuss, hence the hiding of it – so Snape's just going to have to be satisfied with what he's been told. _(glances uncertainly at Snape) _damn, he makes me nervous… as for run-in with Harry…

For a while I had a scene with Harry discussing what he saw with Hermione and Ron, with Al overhearing and jumping in, but Mjade and I ultimately decided that Harry ought to know by now when it was appropriate to spill somebody else's secret. Though I'm keeping said scene in a separate file to have fun looking at every now and again. Maybe I'll have like, an omake chapter when CSAG is all done, just to show you guys some concepts and scenes that got thrown out. Some of them are quite interesting. :)

hehe... I'll think about it, okay?


	35. Session

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
_by hikaranko_**

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer:** For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty me. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent:D

**Message from the Author:** Sorry this took so long, guys. I got possessed/obsessed/addicted to joining roleplay communities on LiveJournal, and it just completely consumed me with its fun times. XD _And_ my co-writer's been out of the country for the summer, so it was hard getting work done on CSAG, what with time differences and stuff happening... and then reading book 7 took a while (snarl snarl roar so much death WHY WHY, SO UNNECESSARY THE DEATHS!)...

And, I was planning on replying to as many reviews as possible, but... there are so many right now! Are you guys multiplying, or what? Heehee... Makes me so happy... _(cries tears of joy)_ So just know that I love you all _so_ much for all the reviews, and I'm so glad that so many people are enjoying the story!!

BUT ANYWAYS! Here's the next chapter! You've all been so very patient and kind, so you deserve it! Yaaaay, update!

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**Chapter 35  
Session**

The manor was old and run down, damp, derelict, and unoccupied, and received no visitors other than the occasional group of teenagers that took stupid dares or liked pranks. Many years ago it might have been a fine-looking place, easily the largest and grandest building for miles around. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, with some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked all across its face. Most of the estate was now inhabited by one or two rats, but even they had grown frightened of the place in recent years.

Now more than ever the nearby villagers proclaimed the place haunted. No one could get close to the place without unbidden chills running up and down their spines. And more often than not, whenever someone looked at the place they just turned away and quickly ran off to more important business. No one went there. Everyone tried to forget that it loomed above them from the hill top.

It was all this and so much more that made it the perfect nestling ground for a group of Dark Art practitioners. And so one boarded up window could be found with the dim orange glow of a fire flickering behind it. A thick, silky voice that seemed to hiss slightly issued from within the room, addressing a group of black-robed figures gathered there. The owner of the voice paced the room slowly, his own wispy black robes trailing across the floor and raising up small dust clouds behind him. It gave the overall appearance of smoke, billowing at his feet, and making him seem all the more mysterious... All the more sinister.

He wasn't happy. This much the other people in the room knew without saying. And when their master wasn't happy, people had a tendency to be tortured... Sometimes killed. One of their members, not donned in the same black, hooded robes but rather in tattered rags that vaguely resembled an old brown suit, was already cowering and whimpering in the corner. The flickering firelight barely reached him there, and he was only just visible to everyone else. They all knew what had happened to him. They knew better than to ask after him.

Not that any single one of them really cared. It wasn't in their nature to really care for anything outside the realm of their own personal interests. That was why they had become _his_ followers. That was why he had deemed them worthy of being his immediate subordinates.

But tonight... he was displeased with each of them. They were expendable, really. Even if they had dwindled and were not nearly as powerful in number as they had been a year ago, he was positive that he would find others - _better_, more competent ones - to replace any that were lost. He'd had to replace several of them already; it hadn't been very difficult.

"It's been over _five months_ since last we heard from him," he said in a soft hiss, addressing no one in particular. "Why hasn't the task been done?"

"We... We cannot contact him while he is in Hogwarts, my lord," someone said, picking his words with great care before voicing them. "Perhaps it is already-"

"Impossible," he hissed again, a little more loudly and angrily this time. "If it were done we would know it, such an act cannot go unheard. I would have felt it... The havoc it would cause... The pain and sorrow would weigh so heavily on that cursed boy..." His scarlet eyes flashed as he swept toward the man who had suggested such an imbecilic thing. "I would _feel _it."

The man seemed to be trembling underneath his robes, but all that anyone could see was the paling of the visible parts of his face. Slowly, the Dark Lord pulled away from him and resumed walking around the circle of black-robed figures. A whimper was heard from the far corner of the room. It was ignored.

"Perhaps it was a mistake to send him," somebody else suggested.

This made the pale, scarlet-eyed man whirl around in a quiet rage. "I... do not make mistakes," he hissed dangerously, crossing the circle and advancing on the man. He drew his wand. "_Crucio_!"

A jet of green light exploded from the end of it and hit the man. He immediately fell to the ground, screaming and writhing with the absolute pain and torture of the spell. Eventually, the spell was lifted, leaving him twitching on the floor in the midst of a dust cloud. His master loomed threateningly over him, and the small circle had expanded slightly to give them a wider berth.

"I... I meant no d-disrespect, m-m-master," the man gasped, trying desperately to pull himself back up off the floor.

"Then _enlighten _me, Gibbon." The Dark Lord leaned forward slightly, reaching forward and grabbing up his subordinate by the chin. He forced Gibbon to look him directly in the face as he spoke. "What _exactly_ did you mean by your foolish words…?"

"I... I..." Gibbon swallowed, gathering his wits as quickly as possible. He then blurted out, "He is _weak_, master! H-He cannot-"

"The Malfoy boy knows _exactly _where he stands. He _knows _what is at stake and it would be foolish of him to dawdle... whittle the time away while his family teeters on the brink of annihilation... You were last to speak with him, Gibbon. Tell me! Did he really think I would wait patiently until the end of the school year?"

"H-He said..."

"I am _tired of waiting_!"

The screaming and yelling was renewed and doubled as the Cruciatus Curse was inflicted on Gibbon again. He fell back to the floor and he collapsed in a crumpled heap of black robes, twisting and writhing in his mind-numbing pain. But, determined to say his part, he struggled to pull himself back up off the floor. He choked back his pained yells, fighting himself to get out something coherent. The pain increased exponentially and he writhed and clawed at nothing. It was like fighting the dark veil of death itself...

"M-Mal... f-foy..." A mangled shout was wrenched from his throat. "M-Mas...ter... I... He..."

The snake-like nostrils of his master's nose flared, his eyes widening. It was almost as though he was curious to hear what could possibly be so important for Gibbon to say, but he showed no signs of relenting. A sadistic smile was dancing at the corners of his mouth.

"He... He...!" Then, mustering every ounce of strength left to him in the midst of the torture, Gibbon bellowed, "Young Malfoy is desperately infatuated with Potter's Mudblood!"

The reaction from everyone else was instant. The curse was lifted and all eyes in the room were now on Gibbon. An audible gasp was heard from all of the hooded onlookers, followed by a tense silence broken only by Gibbon panting and wheezing and gagging on his own catching breath. Then one of the figures stepped forward, throwing back the hood and revealing the face of a woman with heavy-lidded eyes and a tangle of long, wild dark hair.

"Impossible!" she cried. "My nephew would never associate himself with that sort of filth!"

Another figure stepped forward to challenge the woman, also throwing back his hood to reveal his own weedy-looking appearance. "Your nephew is a traitor! I _knew_ he was a fickle, spineless boy! A _Mudblood_ no less! Does he dare degrade his honor and his father's for this impure creature?!"

The woman's eyes grew wide and she set a horrible glare on the other man. Her wand was out in an instant, aimed for the weedy man's throat. "How _dare_ you insult my family, Nott! Your jealousy is obvious, you and your pathetic worm of a son could never measure up-"

"At least my boy has never done anything so dishonorable as to become infatuated with Muggle _filth_!"

"Hold your tongue! Else I'll torture you into madness and then-"

"Do your worst, Lestrange!" Nott spat, a slight quaver in his voice undermining the dare. "Your _insanity_ has obviously clouded your judgment-"

"SILENCE!"

The Dark Lord thrust his arms out and a surge of wandless magic pushed the two back into their places in the circle. The argument ceased at once with the intervention. Their master glanced at both of them in turn, then he slowly turned his red-eyed gaze on Gibbon, who was clearly struggling to remain conscious on the floor. Just as slowly, a wicked smile crossed his lipless face.

"Actually... Young Draco's infatuation could prove interesting..."

"My lord," protested Lestrange, turning pleadingly to her master. "This accusation is rubbish, we all know such a thing is impossible. It's unthinkable!"

"Then a test." The Dark Lord turned to address Nott. "As useless an embarrassment your son may be, Nott... He still as yet may be of some use to me."

Despite the insult fed into his words, Nott all but threw himself at his master's feet. "Oh please, my lord... Any aid my son can give you is the greatest honor you can ever bestow on my family."

There was a flicker of amusement in the dark wizard's eyes. "I don't think it would hurt to speed up young Malfoy's initiation process."

Confused, Nott stared up at his master. "My lord?"

"Your son's mission..." The evil smile on his face broadened ever so slightly. "Is to retrieve the Mudblood."

* * *

True to his word, Harry didn't tell anyone about Ed's auto-mail. No rumors about it emerged from any part of the school, let alone from Harry and his fellow Gryffindors. Draco had also remained quiet about it, and if Ed didn't know any better he would have said that the Malfoy heir knew nothing of it. He chose not to find out why the Slytherin wasn't the least bit curious. Ed was in no mood to retell his cover-up story. He never was, really. He really did hate talking about his background. Even just lying about the condition of his arm felt like a stab to the heart. He preferred the relative peace and quiet that he was getting for once in his life. 

More than once he tried retelling the story of what had happened that night in the bathroom to the Slytherins, trying to make it sound less like it was all Harry's fault, but each attempt had failed miserably. Eventually, having reached a point that was somehow above and beyond the limits of his temper, Ed gave up on his Housemates completely.

Life at Hogwarts went on. The last Quidditch match of the year ended positively, or so Ed heard... he hadn't gone to watch the game, partly because of Draco, partly because of disinterest. He'd spent the afternoon in the dormitory, re-examining his books and research. Al told him later, in minute detail, all about how Ginny had won the game for them. He'd used Quidditch terms that were completely alien to Edward in his explanation, which had earned him a blank, almost horrified stare.

"I have _no idea_ what you're talking about," he'd muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You know that, right?"

"But it was really fun, nii-san! You should have gone to watch, I really think you would've enjoyed it, too!"

Ed gave a sly, teasing grin. "Was watching the _game _fun, or was it watching Ginny in action?"

"I-It was the game!" Al stuttered, but Ed could tell his little brother was blushing profusely.

"You're way too into this world, Al," Ed laughed. "Next you'll be asking me to get you your own wand and enroll you here."

There was no verbal response. Al just bowed his head. Ed got a horrible feeling that he'd been planning on doing just that.

The next few weeks rolled by slowly. There was some bustling going on with the Ravenclaws as they started to study more feverishly than ever. Ed noted that a few Gryffindors and even a sparse few Slytherins were picking up their textbooks and reading them more intently. For a while, the reasoning behind this was unfathomable, but a glance at a calendar hanging on the wall near Draco's bed was all Ed needed. The final exams were coming up.

In all honesty, Ed could have cared less about a bunch of tests. He practically made sure that everyone else knew this at every opportune moment.

"Royal straight flush."

Ed splayed the full hand of cards out on the table, earning him a collective, frustrated groan from the other players (Zabini and two Slytherins that Ed had never spoken to before and had simply wanted his help). They all threw down their cards on the table as Ed "innocently" grinned up at them.

"How is that you _always _win this game, Elric?" Zabini said with a slight scowl on his face. "I mean, almost _every single time_."

The young blonde shrugged. _'Three words: sleight of hand.'_ "Experience, maybe?"

Zabini's scowl grew. The two other Slytherins got up and left, sneering slightly at Ed for winning his way out of his - as they had called it - "duties as a swot". Draco, who had been lounging on a couch nearby with some kind of book about repairing things in his hands, shook his head and rolled his eyes at the display. He was the only other person in the room that knew Ed was cheating.

"One more go, Elric," said Zabini, leaning forward on the table. "C'mon."

"That's your thirty-fourth loss, Zabini," Draco drawled, flipping the page in his book. "Not tired of losing yet?"

"I never tire of anything," he retorted smugly. "Not until I win for once."

"You should listen to Malfoy," Ed chided, still grinning as he reached over to grab his deck of cards. "He's a lot smarter than you are."

"And you should learn to stop playing poker against Elric," Draco added. "You'll never beat him."

Ed nodded as he tapped the cards with his wand. "Damn straight."

Zabini frowned at both of them. "Fine. One more game, and if I lose this one-"

"Again," Ed interjected.

"-then I'll get back to hitting the books."

Smirking, Ed watched the deck shuffle itself for a minute. When it finally settled down in an obedient pile on the table in front of him, he picked it up and prepared to deal. "You want more players, Zabini? Go three on one, increase your chances of winning?"

At the mere suggestion Zabini made an annoyed face at Ed, but didn't hesitate to look around the common room in search of somebody to invite into the game. He waved down Nott as he emerged from his dorm room and started for the exit.

"Hey Nott! Help me beat Elric at a game of poker, eh? He says he'll help us get ready for exams if we win."

Nott looked tiredly over at them and groaned. "Aren't you getting a little old for card games, Zabini?" he snapped. "Unlike you, I'm preoccupied with more important things."

He then resumed walking and quickly left the room. Ed and Draco each raised an eyebrow at the display, but quickly shrugged it off. Neither of them had any particular favor of any kind toward the older boy and could have cared less about what he was doing. And Ed had long since decided that Theodore Nott was some kind of psycho, being a young Death Eater and all that. Zabini wrinkled his nose in disapproval and turned away, settling back into his place at the table.

"Fine, _be _a complete arse," he muttered. "Let's get this started, eh, Elric?"

Ed shrugged and started to deal. "Fine."

Not surprisingly, Zabini lost the game to Ed's better hand of a straight in diamonds and was forced to concede to get back to studying. Ed grabbed up his playing cards again, opting this time to shuffle them himself out of boredom. He watched as Zabini pulled out his miscellaneous textbooks and rolls of parchment from his bag. Ed grinned as he looked on, feeling pleased with himself. Soon enough Crabbe and Goyle moved back in and took their places. They actually had textbooks in their hands and one of them was actually explaining a concept to the other. As Ed listened to his explanation, he dimly realized that he was still getting it wrong.

After a few moments, Zabini glanced up from his books and turned to Ed. "Does it really bother you _that much _to spare a second to help us, Elric? Why don't you just tutor us already?"

Looking across the table at the boy in the midst of all those textbooks, Ed briefly wondered if that was what _he_ looked like when researching something. He pushed the thought from his mind; It wasn't important either way, really. He merely leaned back, stashing his cards away with an indignant snort.

"Why should I?"

One of the Crabbe/Goyles gave Ed a pleading look. "'Cause we're your mates!"

Ed rolled his eyes. _'Yeah. Right.'_

"C'mon, Elric," Zabini urged again. "Just look at these two pathetic little faces. You'd let them down?"

He gestured to Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom took the initiative to look as pathetic as they could (which really was pretty damn pathetic and not altogether too difficult for them to do). Ed sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes skyward.

"Yeah, actually. I think I would."

All three boys looked crestfallen and Ed couldn't help but smirk.

Just then, Pansy wandered over, a small legion of Slytherin girls behind her and a textbook in her hands. She perched herself on the arm of the couch where Draco was sitting and turned to the boy, pointing to a diagram on the page.

"Drakey, can't you explain this bit? I just can't understand it..."

Draco barely glanced up from his book. "Ask Elric."

Ever one to follow Draco's commands, Pansy now turned pleadingly to Edward. And, much to his annoyance, so did every one of Pansy's followers. "Ed-_dyyyy_..."

Ed fixed a glare on Draco. "Traitor."

He didn't look up, but the classic Draco Malfoy smirk crossed the boy's face.

"Just have a look at this, the other girls and I just can't-"

"No," Ed retorted, throwing Pansy and the other girls a venomous look. The girls all whined in protest like a bunch of kicked dogs and instantly shrank back to their dark corner of the common room. Only Pansy remained perched on the arm of the couch, frowning deeply at the two boys who refused to help her. Ed then turned back around, only to find himself faced with three pathetically pleading faces. He groaned loudly, wanting nothing more than to bang his forehead against the table.

"Look, I am _not _tutoring you guys for your exams. Just why the hell do you guys think I'd make a good tutor anyway?"

Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle all shrugged in unison. "'Cause you're smart?"

Scowling, Ed gently massaged his temple with his good hand. "If I had a hundred cenz for every time I heard that..."

Crabbe/Goyle blinked. "A hundred _what_?"

"Nothing. Never mind." Ed sighed and quickly rose to leave. "Just get Malfoy to do it."

"Please," Draco muttered. "I'm a very busy man, Elric. I can't be bothered with tutoring this lot."

"We love you, too, Malfoy," Zabini cooed mockingly.

"Touching, Zabini," Draco drawled. "But completely unrequited."

Thinking that maybe this applied to her as well (and being right in thinking so), Pansy stuck out her lower lip in a pout. Ed couldn't help but grin. He then yawned and stretched his limbs, glancing over at a nearby grandfather clock to find that it was getting close to midnight. So with one more stretch, he headed off toward the dorms.

"I'm off to bed. Have fun trying to study."

"Oh, come on, Elric!" Zabini continued to plead. He pulled out his wand, conjured up a jelly donut, made it float over to Ed, and had it hover tantalizingly under his nose. "You're our only hope! And if you help us, you can have this donut..."

Ed blinked at the donut in confusion, and then turned to look back at the Slytherins in mild shock. "O-kaaay... This is weird. Since when did you guys actually care about your grades?"

Zabini tutted and shook his head at Ed as though he were disappointed in him. "Elric, Elric, Elric... You can't conquer the world if you're a complete idiot."

"True, but you can help," Ed pointed out, grabbing the donut out of the air and taking a hearty bite out of it. "Just look at Crabbe and Goyle."

This comment made Draco scowl slightly, but nobody noticed. Crabbe and Goyle both looked confused. "What?"

"See?" Ed shoved the rest of the donut into his mouth. "Perfect minions. You'll be fine."

He then turned to leave again, but Zabini raced over to stop him. "Sorry, Elric, but I'm simply much too good-looking to be a mindless drone." Then a shocked look slowly crawled across Zabini's face as he looked at Ed, finally noticing that he was wiping crumbs off of his gloved fingers. "Did you just eat the donut I was bribing you with?!"

Ed smacked his lips and grinned. "Yummy."

Zabini made an annoyed face, which served only to make Ed's grin broaden.

"Can't you just quiz us or something, Eddy?" Pansy chimed from her place at Draco's side.

"Quit callin' me that!"

Pansy sank back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest and giving yet another little pout. She kept her eyes on Ed at all times, though. "You can be such a prat sometimes, Eddy."

"That's because you keep calling me 'Eddy'," he retorted, narrowing his eyes.

The Slytherin girl briefly turned away in a snobbish manner, only to turn back a moment later with the same pathetically insistent look on her face. Ed just glowered around the room until he realized that just about _everyone_ (except for Draco) was giving him that same pleading, wounded deer look. It was uncharacteristically pathetic, and it almost worked in making Ed feel sorry for them. Though, naturally, he just so happened to know them better than that.

"And you call yourselves Slytherins," he grumbled. "This begging thing doesn't suit you at all."

"Just one question, Elric," Zabini said. "You owe me now. I mean, what happened to that 'equivalent exchange' rubbish you're always on about?"

"I don't owe you anything!"

"You ate the donut."

"That doesn't count."

"You ate... the donut."

"A donut in exchange for knowledge can hardly be called equivalent."

"That was a bribe, and you took it."

"_It doesn't_-"

"Just throw them a question," groaned Draco, apparently growing more and more aggravated by the unending argument. "You know they won't stop 'til they get what they want."

Ed gave Draco a dirty look. He didn't want to give in to these idiots! But unfortunately, he knew that Draco was right, and until he gave them _some _form of assistance, no matter how small, they would be jumping on his bed and keeping him awake all night. And if there was anything that Edward Elric appreciated more than anything in the world, other than good food, it was sleep.

With a heavy, world-weary sigh and a roll of his eyes, Ed turned around. "Argh, fine. Explain Golpalott's Third Law."

"Oh, I know that one!" Zabini cried triumphantly. He then twisted his face up in concentration. "It... It states that, erm... the antidote for a mixed - no, no, blended! For a _blended_ poison will be, erm... equal to more than the, ah, the total sum of, of the antidotes for each..." He strained to remember. "For each... separate... component."

He then grinned. Ed clapped his hands lightly. "Good job, Zabini. But I told you to _explain_ it, not recite its definition."

The taller boy's face fell, going from smug to shock in less than two seconds. Ed nodded curtly at him, announcing that one quiz question was more than enough for the jelly donut, then turned and headed for the dormitory.

* * *

Hermione let out a tired sigh and leaned back in her chair. It was getting pretty late, and the library had long since closed. Madam Pince only allowed her to stay there because she knew that Hermione was well behaved and wouldn't cause any sort of trouble or wreak havoc with the books. All she was doing that night was studying, anyway. That, and searching relentlessly for information about Harry's so-called "prince" and for an explanation of "horcrux." All she'd found was a short, two-sentence paragraph stating that it was a dangerous Dark Art that was not spoken of. Such a find only agitated her and her thirst for knowledge. 

If that was all they knew, what was the point of writing about it all?

She yawned, hiding it behind her hand. She was exhausted, physically and mentally, but continued to press on in her studies. She leaned forward on the table, propping her head up with one arm, and turned to the next page. Her eyes slowly passed over each line, one after the other, taking in and committing their meanings to memory. Slowly... Slowly, her eyelids began to grow heavy. Her head started to droop.

She quickly woke herself, straightening in her seat and shaking her head to push the weariness away. Then, even more resolutely than before, Hermione folded her hands on the table in front of her and leaned over her book once again. But once again, sleep tugged at the insides of her eyelids and she began to doze off.

And as her eyelids finally shut all the way, a pair of hands reached out from the shadows and grabbed her from behind.

* * *

**Note from the Author:** Short and sweet, and worth it, hopefully? And... heehee. CLIFFHANGER DESU. Again! 

Description of Riddle Manor taken _almost_ word for word from J.K. Rowling's own from book 4. This chapter also has something of a tension breaker, between its very dramatic beginning and ending... It seemed all too necessary to pull away from the drama for half a second. Though I... did sorta dive right back into it at the end there... But that's beside the point. Point is, there was some humor in here. Love the Slytherins. LOVE THEM. XD Man, they can be so ridiculous sometimes...

Okay, I'm gonna try really hard to not take so long with the next update, so wish me luck on that! As always, please leave a friendly review on your way out!


	36. A Mission Gone Awry

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary:** Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer:** For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty me. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent:D

**Message from the Author:** i know, i know, this took FOREVER to put up, but seriously, things have just been _so_ distracting lately. a lot's been happening in my life, and it's just been consuming me whole, and so i deeply apologize for the immense, totally inexcusable lateness of this update. but i'm _finally _putting this one up now, so please please _please _don't hurt me?

on another note, WOW, almost 1000 reviews! that is most awesome indeed! i was actually thinking about waiting on this update just a little longer, until it actually did hit 1000 and this'd be like, your reward for diligent reviewing or something. XD but i changed my mind, and i'm pretty glad i did. so yeah! EXCITING TIMES.

anyways. that said. this chapter's been lying in wait for _ages _now, been getting tweaked on occasion and all that good stuff. and now it finally gets to see the world! or... the world gets to see it. you know what i mean.

so again, i'm sorry for the long wait. enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 36  
****A Mission Gone Awry**

Edward rolled over onto his side in the bed, sighing and groaning in discontent. He was feeling inexplicably restless again that night, and he hated when that got in the way of his much needed and very greatly desired sleep. He'd been lying there, listening to the sounds of his roommates as they entered the dorm and got into bed. At that moment, it was the gurgling snorts and snores of one of the Crabbe/Goyles that he was listening to, and Ed was silently wishing for some sort of reprieve from the horrible noise. So far, he'd had no luck. Go figure.

He gave another annoyed grunt as he shifted onto his right side, only to roll back onto his back since his auto-mail wasn't particularly comfortable to lie on. That didn't help him either. So, not knowing what else to do, he did something unthinkable: Edward Elric started to count sheep.

After the first twenty or so, they started morphing. When they had once been perfect white sheep, their fleece began to turn black. Then it wasn't fleece at all, but cloth. The black cloth lengthened and stretched out until it was billowing behind them. Then the figure itself began to change, becoming more humanoid until Ed was sure that he was seeing black-robed figures leaping over a white picket fence, their wands drawn...

The door suddenly creaked open, and the noise pulled Ed from his strange visions (for which he was partially grateful). He raised himself up in the bed slightly, straining to hear what was going on. He knew that all of his roommates were asleep; Draco had come in first, then Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle all entered at once, talking amongst themselves about something stupid until they fell asleep. So who could possibly be entering their dorm at this time of night?

"Malfoy." The voice came in a hoarse whisper. The speaker padded across the room toward Draco's four-poster bed. "Malfoy."

A sleepy groan answered him from within the dark green blankets.

"Malfoy, get up. Get _up_, you prat, get up."

There was another sleepy groan. Then, "Wha... the bloody 'ell are you doin' in-"

"Put your robes on and get your arse down to the common room. Need to talk to you. Bring your wand."

The first person crossed the bedroom and headed out without closing the door behind him. Ed listened, wide awake and rapt with urgent curiosity, as Draco pulled himself out of bed and pulled on his robes. He yawned as he also headed out, but behind him Ed could hear the hinges of the door squeaking as it was partially closed. Ed's brow furrowed. What would anyone want to talk to Draco about at this time of night?

Ed pulled himself out of bed, tying his hair back into a hasty ponytail, and slid on his boots and black school robes. He felt rushed somehow; he didn't have time to change completely. He had to catch up and find out what was going on. This could be something important. He never really knew when it came to Draco. He hesitated as he was about to go out the door, turned around, and grabbed his wand. If Draco had been told to bring it, then Ed might need it as well.

Stuffing the wand into the inner pocket of his robes, Ed moved as quietly and carefully as he could toward the common room. He peered around the corner, his eyes sweeping over the room in search of his targets. Draco and another boy with black robes and a hood pulled over his head were just leaving, both clutching broomsticks in their hands. Once both boys had passed through, Ed raced over, using the groaning of the sliding stone wall as cover for his uneven footsteps. He practically dove through the space as the wall slid shut, just barely clearing it. He landed on the other side in a tumble and was immediately thankful for his small stature. Unfortunately, this thought came unbidden to his mind and the moment he realized it he nearly screamed at himself. He'd managed to stifle it somewhat, but a small snort and squeak still escaped him. Immediately, Ed clapped his hands over his mouth.

Draco and the hooded figure both paused in their walking to look back at the door. The latter narrowed his eyes. "Did you hear something?"

They were both silent for a time, looking around them carefully. When they found nothing, they continued on their way. Ed tried not to sigh in relief. He was now utterly grateful for the cover that the dark dungeon shadows provided for him. He stayed hidden in the dark until both boys vanished up the stairway. Only then did he hurry forward, press his back to the cold stone wall, and peer cautiously around the corner and up the stairs. He took careful note of the direction they had chosen to walk down the corridor, then concealed himself again. Paying close attention to the light sound of their footsteps, Ed only moved when he was sure they were at a far enough distance to not catch sight of him.

It was in this manner that he followed them throughout the school. They wound their way down the halls, staying quiet and being ever vigilant of Filch and his pesky cat sidekick as they went. Eventually, they found their way up to the third floor, where they stopped in front of a statue of a humpbacked old woman. Ed kept himself hidden at a distance, watching as the hooded boy drew his wand, looked warily up and down the corridor, and then tapped the statue with his wand, saying something as he did so. Edward was too far to make out what had been said, but it was obviously some kind of incantation since the hump on the statue's back opened to reveal a hole big enough for an adult to slip through.

The boy gestured at the opening. Draco made a face and said something, but eventually stepped up and pulled himself down the hole. The hooded boy followed a second later and the hole shut behind them, making the statue look as though it had never been tampered with.

Ed scowled. Then, once he'd made sure that the coast was clear, he hurried over to the statue as well. He examined it carefully, running his hands over it and concentrating his energy. There was a slight build up of magic in the stone, though not nearly as much as there was back at that wall on the seventh floor, and he could detect how thin the material was. It would be easy to use alchemy to get through and follow them.

And so, after checking up and down the corridor once again, Ed clapped his hands together and laid them on the ground in the small space between the statue and the wall. With a flash of blue light, Ed had himself a tunnel that would undoubtedly lead him to the hollow cavity beneath the statue. He entered it carefully and closed it off behind him, then walked in a crouched over position down his alchemical pathway until he came across what looked like some kind of slide. He pressed one hand to its surface experimentally. Then, deciding it was safe to use, he carefully hauled himself onto it and rode it down to the end, holding in his yells of surprise at how quickly he was picking up speed.

When he finally reached level ground, he found himself on the inside of a large underground cavity. He landed in a tumble, rolling through the dirt and exerting every effort not to yelp and curse as he did so. Ed sat up and gazed around him, looking first at the narrow opening through which he'd come through with his nose wrinkled in disapproval before looking down the way that he was supposed to go. It was damp and dark down there, so Ed reached into his robes and dug around for his wand. Casting _Lumos_, Ed picked himself up and started down the earthen tunnel. It was a long walk, but Ed at least had the comfort of knowing that there was only one way to go. He'd catch up to his targets soon enough.

After a long while (though fortunately before he lost his patience completely) the path turned into a steady uphill climb toward the ceiling, and not much long after that he found that the ceiling overhead was now poured concrete. Curious, he reached up over his head and pressed one hand against it. Where had _this _come from? Finding a crack in its surface, Ed flattened his palm on one side of the crack and pushed. When that didn't do anything, he put his still lit wand in his teeth to free his other hand, pressed them both on the other side of the crack and pushed harder. With a soft groan the hard surface gave way, revealing some kind of trap door. As quietly as possible, Ed lifted the door and started to raise himself up through it, looking out to see where he had emerged.

It looked like some sort of storeroom or basement. There were shelves filled with what seemed like an infinite number of jars and pots, several large barrels and heavy-looking canvas bags. Ed pushed the trap door the rest of the way open and slowly pulled himself out, glancing about for signs of Draco or his hooded companion but finding none. He lowered the trap door cautiously until it shut tight, leaving absolutely no sign of its existence behind. He then headed for the cluttered staircase, since it looked like it was the only way out of the place. He wormed his way around the overflowing cardboard boxes that had been placed carelessly on the steps until he reached the door at the top. Fortunately for him it wasn't locked, so once he'd extinguished the light from his wand, Ed simply passed through.

He found himself behind the counter of what he recognized as the candy store in Hogsmeade. Needless to say, Ed was confused by this outcome, but he simply decided that it was just more of the Wizarding World's bizarreness. It was past midnight, so the place was completely empty and pretty much on lock-down (though why anyone would want to steal candy, Ed didn't know). He cautiously made his way toward the door, used magic to unlock it so he could go through, and then again to lock it once he was on the other side.

Ed looked up and down the barren main street of Hogsmeade. The place was swathed in moonlight, a few patches of dim shadow here and there showing where puffs of cloud were trying to cover the moon. Ed quickly ran into a darkened alleyway and hid there, feeling strangely exposed on the street under the soft light. He poked his head out and searched the street from his new hiding place, still looking for signs of Draco and his cloaked companion. He soon found that he was looking in the wrong direction. As he raised his head upward slightly, Ed saw a pair of silhouettes flying off into the midnight sky. When he squinted to make them out more distinctly, he realized that they were figures on broomsticks.

He cursed inwardly. He had no broom - he'd thought nothing of the fact that they'd each taken one down with them - and even if he did, he didn't know how to fly one. How on earth was he to follow them now? Resisting the temptation to punch a large hole into the side of the candy shop next to him, Ed scanned the area once again. He needed something that could fly, as ridiculous as that sounded. Something, anything...

There was a strange sound coming from one side, much like the rustling of feathers or blankets. Ed gave a start and instinctively ducked back into the shadows, but allowed his eyes to sweep over the street once again. He caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye, something the color of fire vanishing over the roof of the buildings. A bird, perhaps? His brow furrowing, Ed took a small step out of the alleyway, trying to get a better look at whatever it was. For a second he thought it looked just like an image of a phoenix he'd seen in a book, but it was now so far away that it was hard to know for sure.

That's when another strange, dark figure stepped out onto the main road and caught Ed's attention. It was built something like a horse, but extremely thin to the point of looking almost skeletal. It was large and black with a pair of scaly wings on its back , and was currently staring straight at Edward with its blank, white eyes. A thestral. For a moment, Ed just looked at it, wondering how on earth it had found its way down to Hogsmeade from the school at this time of night.

Then his breath caught. The ugly chimera-like beast had wings. _Wings_. Theoretically, the thing could fly.

And science was all about testing theories.

* * *

The Slytherin dormitories were silent and still. Their occupants were all fast asleep, occasionally rolling onto their backs or sides, scratching an itch, yawning, twitching, snoring and snorting in the midst of their dreams. They lay more or less content in the plush comfort of their green and silver four-poster beds, long since lost to the call of their dream worlds. 

Throughout all of the Slytherin dormitories, only three beds laid empty.

A small voice suddenly pierced through the silence.

"Edward Elric! _Edward Elric_!"

The small voice came from one of the empty beds. It was muffled, and no one could quite hear it.

"Nii-san! Where _are _you, nii-san?!"

A black boy made a face in his sleep and rolled over, pulling the covers more tightly around him and groaning. He was the only one that had heard anything, but he was groggy and thought nothing of it. Then again, who would?

"Something's happening... I don't know _what_... but you have to come help!"

It was just a disembodied voice. It was just a dream to them. No one would have guessed that the urgency in the young voice was real.

"Mr. Harry's in pain... some kind of nightmare, something about his scar. And Ginny says that, she said that Miss Hermione..."

The voice was resonating from the surface of a small round mirror, tucked safely away inside one of the pillow cases on the bed. Had anyone picked up the mirror and looked into it, they would have seen the face of an iron helmet, with eyes that glowed a dim red light.

"Miss Hermione... is gone."

* * *

The young Malfoy heir grimaced. He was not at all pleased to find himself forced into a situation where he had to obey a pair of Death Eaters. And ones that he held in complete contempt, no less. But it was - as Elric would call it - an order, and he had no other option. He shifted uncomfortably on his broomstick as it had been quite a while since he'd last flown on it. Draco didn't know what he was being called for... He had yet to complete his task, after all. In fact, he was wishing at that moment that he'd chosen to lock himself away to work on it throughout the night. 

Beneath them, the moonlit world rushed by. They were flying out over lush mountain ranges and fields, across rivers and lakes. Draco had no idea where he was being led and partially dreaded what was about to happen - though he was of course much too proud to acknowledge that bad feeling that gnawed at the back of his mind.

At length, the pair in front of him began to descend in their flight. Draco did the same, a bit hesitantly since they were apparently landing in a dark thicket near an open field. They alighted from their brooms and, with the silent efficiency like that of a trained soldier, the taller of the Death Eaters took hold of the brooms (Draco wasn't sure he appreciated such manhandling of _his_ broom and had to scowl slightly) and shouldered them.

"Follow me," he commanded with a jerk of his head. He then marched toward the edge of the thicket, heading for the open field.

The two boys followed wordlessly, the older man picking their way through the tangled underbrush. Once they'd breached the tree line he paused for a moment to place the brooms against one of the tree's trunks, then all three of them walked out into the stony, brightly lit field. There, drenched in the pale moonlight, was the Dark Lord with his usual circle of Death Eaters gathered around him. His wand was drawn and trained on a figure that was writhing at his feet, shrieking and screaming in terror and pain as the usual Cruciatus Curse was inflicted on their body. The high pitch of the voice indicated that it was a young woman, and Draco was instantly sick to his stomach with the thought of yet another Muggle being tortured and killed at the bastard's amusement. Expertly concealing his disgust as he'd learned to do around the Death Eaters, Draco and his companions approached their so-called comrades.

The Dark Lord turned slowly toward them, temporarily lifting the torture from the poor young woman so that he could offer them a twisted sort of smile. Draco tried not to flinch at the man's cold, cruel gaze and kept his pace steady as they came closer. Swiftly, the two Death Eaters in Draco's company bent themselves into a low, humble bow at the Dark Lord's feet. The older one moved closer to kiss his master's robes and then they both withdrew into the circle of Death Eaters. The Dark Lord seemed to have ignored them, his scarlet eyes on Draco's face. Draco lowered his eyes and bowed slightly; he wasn't sure whether or not he ought to mimic their actions. But before he could make any movement to do so, the Dark Lord stopped him.

"So nice of you to join us, young Malfoy," he said, in that same soft hiss of a voice. "We've been waiting for you. Now that you're here, our young guest of honor... we can begin."

Draco swallowed, not sure what the dark wizard was referring to. "... My lord?"

His face twisted into a cruel smile before he spoke again. "As unfortunate as events have been played, with your father put away in Azkaban and you having to take over the Malfoy estate and his role as a member of the Death Eaters... I have observed that you are much too valuable and your skills are more than impressive... Which has led me to the decision of accelerating this initiation of yours."

Draco resisted the urge to glance at the young woman in the grass; he'd seen what had happened to the Dark Lord's followers when their attention seemed to drift when being addressed. So this was going to be the second part - the _true _part, as they'd called it - of his Death Eater initiation. And the girl on the ground nearbywas to be his first victim.

"Although..." The dark wizard now seemed to be surveying Draco with an air of suspicion. "It seems that you have yet to complete the task first assigned to you at the beginning of the year..."

"My apologies," said Draco at once, bowing his head a little lower and speaking as coolly as his father had ever done before him. "I've been getting sidetracked, there've been... unforeseen circumstances and distractions-"

"Is that so." The Dark Lord was clearly not amused, cutting him off swiftly and breaking away to walk around the circle of his followers. He was silent for a time, watching Draco carefully as he squirmed uncomfortably in his overbearing presence. "Do you wish to endow honor on your once noble, broken family, Draco? Do you want to fully become a member of my circle and complete your mission?"

The younger man's voice came out in a slight croak. "Of course I do, master."

Another cruel smile passed over the Dark Lord's expression. "Then in order to do so, there is something you must do first. I am giving you the opportunity to do away with one of the largest distractions in completing your task."

Draco's brow furrowed. "My... My lord?"

With the same expression still plastered to his face, the dark wizard flicked his wand and a clod of dirt hit the young woman in her side, and she gasped with the sudden infliction of pain.

"I order you to kill this Mudblood. Her kind should have never walked this earth. Send this piece of filth back to where she belongs."

Only now, when the Dark Lord indicated the young woman in the grass, did Draco allow himself to look at her for himself. And at that same moment, she turned herself around slightly and raised her head. Draco's eyes grew slightly rounder and his nostrils flared at the sight. A familiar pair of bright brown eyes had risen to meet his from within a mess of bushy brown hair. Her face was contorted into a pained expression, but there was no mistaking the anger and the power that had suddenly flared up in her eyes when she saw him.

Draco swallowed, keeping his face blank and expressionless as he looked down at her, kneeling near him in the grass and glaring up at him. The Dark Lord circled around and slowly placed one of his long-fingered hands onto Draco's shoulder.

"Pitiful, isn't she?" he hissed softly, his eyes studying the look on the younger boy's face. His voice quavered slightly in what Draco strongly suspected to be amusement, like he wanted desperately to laugh. "Potter's Mudblood... She was one of the feistier combatants that night almost... almost a year ago, now, wasn't it? If I recall... But look at her now. Helpless... Pathetic... At our - no. At _your_ mercy."

There was a brief silence in which Draco merely kept his gaze on Hermione's face, watching with a sinking feeling in his stomach as fear and anger and hate flashed through her eyes. She said nothing, but there was no need for her to. Draco, for some reason, simply couldn't tear himself away. He'd been trying so hard to cut thoughts of this girl out of his life once and for all... Why her? Out of all the Muggleborns that could have been selected as his first victim, why did it have to be her? His heart was racing, pounding fearfully in his ears so loudly that he could have sworn everyone else could hear it, too. After he'd tried so hard to stop his feelings for her in order to keep her safe...

"Your loyalties to me have been doubted, Draco Malfoy," Lord Voldemort hissed into his ear. "Prove yourself. And kill her."

The words pierced through him like a knife. He felt as though his very heart had been run through with a cold steel blade. But, not one to drop his facade, Draco drew in a deep breath through his nose and took a step toward Hermione. And he saw, with another tinge of pain, that the anger in Hermione's eyes was now intricately mixed with a deep rooted terror.

_Draco Malfoy hates Hermione Granger._

_'That's right,' _he thought._ 'I hate her. I _hate_ her.' _He repeated this to himself like a mantra.

He took another step forward and noted that there was a bristle of excitement running through the circle of Death Eaters. He couldn't see the dark wizard's face, but Draco was almost certain that the bastard looked pleased. He clenched his jaw and gripped his wand so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Another step, and he stood barely two feet from where Hermione was kneeling. Everything went silent, almost as though even the air had stopped moving and waited to see what Draco would do now.

_'I hate her,' _he thought again, trying to be more forceful with himself. _'I hate her.'_

His grip further tightened around his wand. It was amazing that it had yet to snap in his grasp. Although Hermione stared at him defiantly in hatred, not wincing the least bit as she looked up at him, the fear she so desperately tried to hide pained him more than anything else.

"What's the matter, Draco? Raise your wand!" His aunt's voice, calling out from the circle of onlookers. "Just finish her! Kill her, dear nephew, _kill her_!"

Slowly, Draco obeyed and raised his wand so that it was level with Hermione's face. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, steeling himself for the task. He would kill her. In a moment, she would be just another body, a Mudblood, killed at the hands of Death Eaters. It wouldn't be surprising. Just another dead in the midst of war. There had been millions before her. There would be millions after her.

What did he care about one more?

_Everything_. Everything in this godforsaken world.

Draco nervously licked his lips, his resolve faltering. He didn't know anything anymore. Except for the fact that now _he _was about to die.

* * *

The ugly chimera beast proved to be an excellent flyer. It seemed to struggle only very slightly with Ed's unusually heavy weight, but that hardly undermined its ability. What impressed Ed the most, however, was its extremely acute sense of direction. He hadn't known how to drive or direct the thestral, and it certainly wasn't like he knew where exactly Draco and the other boy were going so he couldn't head them off or anything like that. But when Ed had just muttered darkly to himself about needing to catch up with Draco, the thestral had reared back and taken off. Ed assumed that the beast knew where it was going and what it was doing. 

Not that he had much choice either way. He was largely distracted with clinging to its neck and mane for dear life. Of course, it wasn't as though he was afraid of heights or anything. It was just that Ed had no intention of falling to his death. If Edward Elric was to die young, it would be with a bigger bang than falling off a flying horse-thing.

The thestral took him out over wide stretches of fields and mountains, and Ed was amazed at how fast they moved and how far they had gone. When his mind wasn't so focused on maintaining his hold on the creature, his gold eyes wandered over the landscapes, trying to commit as many landmarks as he could to memory so that he could retrace this path later. One never knew when these things came in handy.

It was a while before the thestral finally began to descend, making a wide circle in the sky so that it could land in the midst of a dark thicket that lined an open field of grass and stones. Ed quickly scanned the field as they were lowered to the ground. Figures. He could see figures there, gathered together. A shiver ran up and down Ed's spine. Somehow he knew: the snake-nosed bastard was there.

Once the beast's hooves touched down on the ground, Ed urged it to move forward through the thicket until they were closer to the edge of the wood. Only when he could see the black-robed figures through the trees and in the distance did Ed dismount, but he kept his good hand on the thestral's flank for a moment, as though he were telling it to stay put. Then, as quietly as he could manage, Ed crept closer to the group so that he could hear what was going on, slinking from the cover of one boulder to another, the hood of his robes pulled over his head so that his blonde hair wouldn't stand out in the moonlight.

"Just finish her!" he heard a woman shout as he approached. "Kill her, dear nephew, _kill her_!"

As he got closer, he noticed that the Death Eaters had all formed a circle around Voldemort, Draco, and a young woman on her knees in front of them. They were all looking on at them expectantly, obviously waiting for something to happen. Obviously waiting for Draco to kill the person in the grass.

His brow furrowing, Ed tried to move around the group to try and identify the young woman. He moved carefully but quickly, trying to remain hidden in the shadows offered by the sparse trees and boulders that were littered across the field. He noticed Draco raising his wand so that it was level with the girl's face. Ed shifted his position, craning his neck to see... Hermione.

Anxiety seized him. No. Draco wouldn't kill Hermione. But if he didn't, then _he_'d be dead. Ed's mind sprang into overdrive and a sudden rush of adrenaline screamed through his system. He had to do something! This wasn't a memory, this was reality. He could stop Draco right then and there. He could actually _do _something. But at the same time, Ed knew that if he was discovered he was as good as dead. He needed more time to plan a course of action... But there wasn't any time.

Then Ed saw something that made him feel both relief and panic at the same time: Draco was slowly lowering his wand.

"I..."

With that, Voldemort's fingers closed more tightly around his own wand. He seemed about ready to raise it toward Draco.

Ed's instincts kicked in.

His hands came together in a thunderous clap, and he immediately pressed his palms to the ground. Voldemort had obviously heard the sound of his clap, but he was too late to do anything about it. Blue lightning flashed around Ed's hands, then surged through the ground toward the Death Eaters at top speed. Spikes and walls of stone erupted from the earth, surrounding Draco and Hermione like a shield. The attack caught everybody by surprise, making the entire group of Death Eaters jump back and scatter away from their places. Even Voldemort must have been surprised as well, but it was hard to say one way or the other.

Ed clapped his hands again, and this time he made even more spikes erupt outward from the ground. Spikes grew atop the spikes that had already been made, sharply jutting outward in an attempt to hit the Death Eaters. He summoned up every battle tactic he'd learned in his time in the military, recalling Armstrong's stone techniques as best he could and mimicking them. Stone spikes exploded from the ground and shot out as projectiles in all directions. Using the colonel's techniques would no doubt have helped, too, but Ed had yet to experiment with using alchemy to alter components in the atmosphere.

The onslaught of attacks made everyone rush back even further still, shouting out in confusion and anger. A few of them were already blasting out spells to destroy Ed's creations where they stood or as they hurtled toward them, but they had yet to pinpoint his location. He clapped again, and more spikes sprang up from the other side of the group, trapping them. Several calls of "_Reducto_!" could be heard, followed by the sound of rock and stone crumbling apart. Ed didn't allow that to deter him and continued the alchemic barrage. As long as no one saw him in his hiding place, he would be safe.

* * *

Draco looked at the walls that had sprung up around them, shocked and confused. At first, he didn't know what to think. Somebody had obviously attacked their meeting, and everyone was running around outside screaming and shouting. Within a few moments he realized that he and Hermione were safe in the middle of it. Not only that, but they were safely out of Voldemort's sight, hidden and shielded by the stone. The Dark Lord was distracted with finding the intruder. 

Quickly, Draco closed the small distance between him and Hermione, bent down, and grabbed her by the arm. He tried to pull her to her feet, but Hermione was quick to struggle against him and fight back. She wrenched her arm away from him with a strength she hadn't realized was still left to her, allowing herself to slump back to the ground.

"Settle down, Granger," Draco hissed, reaching for her again. "Bloody hell, stop-"

She slapped weakly at Draco's hands as he once again caught her by the arm and then glared at him, her lips trembling as though she were on the verge of tears. It was clear that Hermione was just short of hysterical, clawing at Draco's hands and robes to try to get him to release her. Despite how frustrated and simultaneously exasperated he was with the girl, Draco didn't release her. Thinking ahead, he hurriedly pointed his wand to where he assumed the thicket was and called out, "_Accio broom_!"

His broomstick darted through the air, winding its way toward them over what had apparently turned into a battlefield. Within moments it swooped down into the narrow "room" that they found themselves in and Draco put his wand away into his inner robe pocket so that he could use that hand to catch it. He quickly swung one leg over it and then turned to Hermione.

"Get up, you stupid girl! _Get up_!"

There was an explosion from the other side of the thick walls and the very ground itself seemed to shake. This startled Hermione so much that her guard dropped for a second as she gasped. Draco took advantage of that moment to force Hermione to her feet and haul her onto the broomstick in front of him. Then, despite her screaming protests, he kicked off the ground and took to the sky, wanting only to leave the battlefield as far behind them as he could.

* * *

_'Finally,' _Ed thought, spotting Draco and Hermione aboard a broomstick and rising up into the sky. In all honesty, he'd expected their escape to have been much earlier, hoping that Draco would have taken advantage of the chaotic distraction to do so. 

As another spell was shot his way, Ed dove out of his hiding place and hurled himself toward the stone room he'd created. He had to cover for them. It was better for everyone involved if no one realized that Draco had been the one to take Hermione away. They didn't know who Ed was. He'd adjusted his robes and hood so that the material was much thicker and bore almost no semblance at all to the Hogwarts school robes. As far as the Death Eaters needed to know, a strange hooded figure had appeared from out of nowhere to save her. And that was the way things were going to need to stay.

So Ed raced across the ruined and scarred landscape, dodging spells when he could by throwing up shields or ducking behind rocks and boulders. Deciding it was best for the Death Eaters to believe Ed was a normal wizard, he whipped out his wand as he closed in on one of the walls of the alchemic room he made. He extended it out in front of him and shouted "_Reducto_!", blasting a large enough hole in the stone for him to dive through a few moments before he'd even reached it.

"He's after the Mudblood!" someone howled. And then there were mangled shouts erupting from amongst them, calling for Draco, asking where he'd gone and demanding he kill Hermione at once.

Mere seconds after diving into the "safe haven" he'd transmuted for Draco and Hermione, Ed took his wand into his mouth so his hands were free to be clapped. He did so hurriedly and pressed them into the ground, creating an underground tunnel that would take him back toward the safety of the thicket. He then slipped into it as fast as he could, and not a moment too soon: the Death Eaters burst through the walls and Apparated into the space nearby, just soon enough to see the last of Ed disappear into the hole.

Ed hurried along the passageway, pressing himself to run faster with each passing second. His wand still in his teeth, he clapped again and slid his hands along the sides of the tunnel, initiating another alchemic reaction. The earth behind him immediately closed in on itself and two fake tunnels were created leading in opposite directions, both dead-ends. For extra measure, Ed fired his wand back at the earthen walls and transfigured a layer of thick rock just behind it as a form of support.

He smirked to himself, approving of his own genius plan. They'd _never _find him now. Though of course, this would probably mean that Hermione's rescuer was going to become a prime Death Eater target; he had, after all, somehow found out about their meeting place, attacked them all without being spotted beforehand, and foiled some portion of their usual Dark Art activities. Pushing the thought of having yet _another_ bounty hanging over him from his mind, Ed hurriedly continued onward. For now, he had to escape back to Hogwarts.

* * *

Draco had lost track of how long they'd been flying. He had one arm around Hermione's back as she was turned towards him, her face buried on his shoulder and her hands grasping the front of his cloak out of fear. He had always known she was scared of flying, but this was the only alternative he had at the time. It was the only way they could get away.

He surveyed the area he was in and spotted the black lake below them. Deciding it would be the wisest distance away from the castle to land, he pointed the nose of his broom down toward the earth and they dove toward it. They landed somewhat awkwardly near the lakebed and as Draco finally touched ground and lifted Hermione off the broomstick, she immediately broke away from him, pushing him away and shaking in fear.

"Granger, let me just explain—"

"Y-You _bastard_!" Hermione cut him off, her swearing catching Draco a bit by surprise. He quickly shook it off, however, and started towards her again.

"Granger, please listen-"

"Don't touch me!" she spat, immediately backing away. "Don't you _dare _come near me!"

He took another step toward her, slowly. "Granger, you don't understand—"

"Oh I understand, alright!" she hissed harshly at him. "I was to be the first Mudblood the Great Draco Malfoy was to kill, isn't that right? I understand _completely_!"

Draco said nothing. She wouldn't have listened to him if he did. He couldn't blame her.

She staggered backward even more, her body shaking uncontrollably. "You're a bloody DEATH EATER!" she screamed at him. "A DISGUSTING, HEARTLESS _DEATH EATER_!"

Draco winced at her words but still would not look at her. He instead turned away to stare at his reflection on the lake. _A Death Eater_. Was he really no better than another one of those ruthless, remorseless followers of the Dark Lord, killing everything that resembled some good in their path?

The Cruciatus curse may have weakened Hermione's body considerably but it didn't mar one bit of her fiery spirit. She just kept screaming at him, breathing hard and red in the face. Although sorrow clenched Draco's heart every single time she called him that hateful thing, he felt a sudden anger rise in him. How dareshe call him that? How dare she insult him like that? Who did this girl think she was? She had no bloody right!

"Shut up!" he spat suddenly. "Shut up, Granger, or so help me, I'll-"

"You'll _what_?" Hermione snapped back. "You'll _kill _me? Go on then, I knew that was what you meant to do with me! Your father will finally be proud to call you his son! Your _master _might even build a shrine in your honor! You finally silenced Hermione Granger, the Mudblood!"

Draco moved to close the space between them. "I brought you back here so you'd be safe, you idiotic girl! You want to go on to the castle on your own, then?! Fine! Go on! You can barely take ten steps without eating dirt!"

"Right where I belong, right, Malfoy?!" she continued to shout at him. "In the dirt?! Just like the Mudblood I am?!"

A sharp pain struck Draco in the heart and his retort was momentarily silenced. It hurt, hearing his own stupid words and insults being thrust under his nose, showing him just what kind of ass he had been. He clenched his jaw, steeling himself again, readying himself for a quick retort and reached over to take her by the wrist. But just as his fingers closed around her arm, Hermione quickly pulled it back and slapped him hard across the face.

Stunned, Draco's hand released her wrist and brought it up to the part of his face where Hermione had struck him. He turned to look up at her and to his surprise, she lowered her eyes to the ground, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"And to think," she managed to say, "and to think, I _defended _you in front of Harry. But he was right… he was right all along." Her voice wavered slightly. "And there I was thinking there was still some good left in you… I was so stupid."

She turned to go, ignoring his pained expression and deep frown, but her exhaustion took over her body and it wasn't long before she collapsed onto the grass. Draco immediately walked over to her fallen form, but made no move to touch her.

"Granger? Can you get up?"

No answer.

Draco bent down swiftly, put one hand on Hermione's shoulder to pull her up while the other hand lifted her head slightly.

Almost immediately, he withdrew.

Hermione Granger was crying, her tears falling freely down her face. "I-I was so scared... I thought I was going to die! Those D-Death Eaters tortured me! V_-Voldemort _tortured me, a-and you- Youjust stood by and _watched_! You-You're _sick_!" She practically spat the last words out.

"Granger," Draco started to say, "there was nothing I could have-"

"I _hate _you!" Hermione screamed right into his face. "I don't _ever _want to see your face again! I was _so wrong _about you! You're the most h-horrible person imaginable! I-I'd curse out your eyes but then you w-wouldn't be able to lookat yourself in the morning and remember just how sick and twisted you are! I don't know how you can live with yourself everyday of your life! There's n-nothing left in you but _evil_!"

She balled her hands into fists and uselessly flailed her arms against him, hitting his chest repeatedly. Draco grasped both of her wrists and hauled her up to her feet. She let out a series of shrill cries and protests as he did so, still struggling against his touch.

"Leave me be! Please, just leave me be! _Leave me_!" She started to sob loudly, as though she was choking on her hoarse yells and her tears. "I hate you! I hate you! I _hate _you..." Then her voice faltered slightly, and once again she collapsed into his arms.

Draco looked down at the exhausted form in his arms. She _hated _him. Of course she did. Hadn't he always known that? And wasn't he supposed to feel indifferent about her feelings toward him? Wasn't she supposed to mean nothing to him? But then, why did the pain in his heart become almost too much for him to bear when he heard her voice her hatred for him out loud?

He picked her up and carried her, heading towards the castle when a clatter of hooves on the soft earth nearby made Draco look up to see what it was. A strange wave of intense relief washed over him when he saw Edward Elric stepping out from the shadows, moving toward him.

Ed looked flushed and exhausted, his blonde hair unkempt and sticking out at odd angles from his ponytail. He was still dressed in his sleeping clothes, except for his hands being in their usual gloves and his huge black boots on his feet. He had some strange sort of cloak around his shoulders, made of some thick cloth and covered only his torso. There was also a large hood on it, but Ed wasn't wearing it at the moment. His gold eyes looked bright in the moonlight as he looked questioningly between Draco and Hermione as he approached.

He'd been so sure that he'd given them ample time to make a speedy getaway and that by now they would both be back in the castle, safe and sound, as though nothing had happened. But seeing them by the side of the lake was disconcerting at best, and a million nightmarish scenarios regarding how this could have happened sped through his head at light speed.

"What..." He moved closer until he was practically beside them, giving both students a careful once over. "What happened-?"

"Here." Draco placed Hermione upright on her feet and her hands reached out and grasped Ed's shoulder for support. "Take Granger back to the castle."

The other boy blinked in confusion. "What? But-"

"You heard me," Draco said quickly. "Take her back to the bloody castle."

"But it looked like you had a pretty good start there, you should-"

"Just _go_." There was such a command in his voice that Ed could easily have mistaken him for the colonel. Then, leaving no room whatsoever for argument, Draco grabbed up his broom and kicked off into the sky.

Edward watched him leave for a moment, his brow furrowed. Then he turned and looked at Hermione. She was practically latched onto him, shaking ever so slightly.

"You okay?"

Hermione finally released him from her grasp, opened her mouth and managed to say "I'm fine" between a small sob and a stifled whimper. Ed just frowned at her, looked back to where he'd abandoned the thestral, and signaled for it to come over.

"You're not. Get on."

And suddenly, just as Ed reached over to take Hermione by the arm, she let out a loud sob and tears started to stream freely down her cheeks. Eyes going wide in surprise, Ed withdrew and took a halting step backward. He'd never learned how to deal with girls when they were crying, despite the frequency with which Winry cried in his presence. It was just one of those things he didn't fully understand. So he just stood there, feeling pretty damn stupid as Hermione Granger cried and cried into the still night air, the salty tears making clear streaks down her dirt-stained cheeks. She heaved another loud sob and her arms slowly moved to wrap around herself.

"H-He was going to _kill _me." Her voice shook and cracked, as though it took an immense effort just to speak. "He was really going to kill me, wasn't he?"

Some combination of fear, panic, anger, and sympathy welled up within him. "No, he..." He paused, struggling to find some kind of explanation that wouldn't bring the girl into a fit of hysterics. "That's not it, Hermione, he wouldn't-"

"I hate him," she murmured suddenly, coming out in almost a hiss. "H-He's nothing more than an unfeeling, cold, cruel person. I-I want nothing to _do _with him. I don't care. I don't care what happens to him anymore."

Ed was taken aback. Although her tone was barely audible, he'd never heard Hermione speak with such a passionate anger and hatred in her voice before. Ed tried to force down the lump that had formed in his throat as he looked at her, watching her cry desperately into the silent, moonlit night. He tried to hold himself steady as a fresh wave of guilt hit him in full force. He'd been too late. He should have acted faster, he should have arrived at the scene earlier, he should've followed Draco and the other boy more tightly... But none of that mattered now.

Hermione now hated Draco with a greater passion than ever.

* * *

**From the Author: **obviously there's much more at stake here than just one romantic relationship, but you all know that already, right? if you don't, well... i guess you'll see soon enough! ...that, and i just told you. so... yeah. eheh.

so... yeah. there it is. Mjade and i have stared long and hard at this chapter, worked and reworked scenes, tweaked wordings, role played... we attacked this chapter. and this is about the best we came up with. mind you, we were only able to do all that working on for very small amounts of time at random points over the past few... months. wow, yes, months. we fail pretty hard right now, huh?

...at least the update now exists. -_sweatdrops- _

so much of this chapter is thanks to Mjade. concepts, dialogue, character development stuffs, a good hefty portion of it is all thanks to her. so if you love the story, remember to love her just as much as you love me. it's mostly a collaborative between the two of us, so yes. the credit for this baby belongs to us both. :)

thanks to people who pointed out mistakes (Beboots, Phantom SunsSong, i'm lookin' at you)! damn, i'm getting rusty at checking the document before submitting it.


	37. A Failure to Understand

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**_**  
by hikaranko**_

**Summary:** Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty _me_. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent! :D

**Author's Note: **soooo. real life is a bitch, and my co-writer Mjade found herself in a situation that more or less rendered her unable to lend her amazing plotting skillz to me as often as either one of us would like. but we're still trying, there's no way in hell i'm throwing this story away. IT'S MY BABY, DAMMIT. i WILL finish!!

otherwise, thanks again for all the reviews!! OVER 1000, WHICH IS FLIPPIN' AWESOME. i love you all sooooo much! and even if you've chosen to stop reading, i'm not quitting till i'm done. so. WOO!!

so once again, sorry for the long ass wait, and here's hoping this makes it up to you!

* * *

**Chapter 37****  
A Failure to Understand**

Hermione leaned heavily on Ed for support as he helped her through the castle. They passed through the halls as quickly as possible and in complete silence. Ed didn't want to take too much time; Filch and his damn cat were bound to be prowling about somewhere, always on the lookout. It made Ed wonder if the man had any sort of life outside of getting students into trouble. But at the same time they had to be extremely careful and quiet, which wasn't particularly easy between Ed's unevenly weighted footfalls and Hermione's current condition. He had his left arm around her as they walked, bracing her carefully as she clung to his robes, dragging her feet along and seeming to wince a bit with every step she took.

As they began to pull into the final stretch of the climb to Gryffindor tower, Ed turned slightly to give Hermione a worried look.

"You need to go to the hospital wing."

The girl averted her eyes, looking down at the floor. "No, I'm fine."

"You're not," Ed retorted, his tone probably a little sharper than it should have been. "You can barely walk on your own."

Hermione shook her head slowly, carefully, as though the small action was painful. "I'll be alright by tomorrow. There's no need to wake Madam Pomfrey."

A frown tugged at the corners of Ed's lips and he stopped walking altogether, giving her a stern look. "I doubt that."

She opened her mouth to say something, but Ed cut her off before anything could come out. He was getting more and more upset.

"Hermione, we're talking about an _Unforgivable_," he said, using practically the same tone he used on Alphonse when he was sure he understood the situation better than the other. "You of all people should know just how serious that is. You can't just let this go- untreated or whatever, you need something to soothe the effects _now_."

The girl turned sharply toward Ed, giving him a piercing look that teetered on the edge of desperation and anger. "Look!" she almost shouted, nearly waking the surrounding paintings. "I don't want anyone to find out someone just tried to _kill _me!"

Ed blinked, a bit taken aback by her outburst. Given the way news traveled at Hogwarts and the countless rumors that tended to spawn from these sorts of events, he could somewhat understand why she wouldn't want anyone knowing that. He'd understand if she didn't want Slytherins teasing and jeering at her even more than usual, lamenting the near miss. He supposed that much was fine. But it still didn't mean she didn't need one form of medical attention or another. After a moment, Hermione closed her eyes and turned away slightly, letting out a tired sigh and becoming significantly calmer.

"I'm sorry, Edward," she said softly, shaking her head, "not that I don't appreciate your concern, but... Being in the infirmary will just rouse people's suspicions, and I really don't want anyone to worry about me... especially Harry." She looked back at Ed, chewing anxiously on her lower lip. "Please, don't tell anyone."

He nodded slowly, turning his gold-eyed gaze elsewhere for the moment and they resumed walking. She seemed to be thinking with a surprising level of clarity, given her condition. Maybe she really _was _getting over it faster than he'd thought, than could possibly have been expected. And it was a natural reaction for Hermione to want the night's events to stay a secret. Ed understood that, considering his own background and his own desire to keep his childhood trauma on a need-to-know basis. So much had happened tonight, and Hermione didn't want-

Wait. _Don't tell anyone... _That should have been _his _line. Ed looked back at Hermione, his eyes wide in surprise. She didn't want to go around telling everyone about Draco being a Death Eater? She wasn't itching to see the man who had come so close to killing her be put away?

"You mean, you won't... You're not gonna...?"

"No one needs to know about that right now." It was like Hermione had read his mind. "Evil or not, Draco is... is still human. Misled, but... human."

Ed stared, unable to find the best way to extend his relief and gratitude. Though at the same time, it seemed like sheer insanity. If he'd been in Hermione's place, he would've demanded Draco be locked up and never released for the rest of his natural life. This girl was a greater person than anyone could possibly truly know. Unbelievable.

"I promise I'll get a tonic from Madam Pomfrey tomorrow before class," she said softly. "It'll help ease the effects of the Cruciatus curse."

"That's good," Ed managed to say, nodding at her as they came to a stop near the Fat Lady's painting. Then Hermione turned slightly so that she was facing him and spoke again, her voice now carrying an air of finality along with a weight of sadness.

"Good night, Edward," she said quietly, detaching herself from Ed's cloak and starting toward the painting. She then paused thoughtfully and turned to look back at him from over her shoulder. "And thank you... For saving my life."

Hermione moved further away, giving the password to the Fat Lady and ignoring the painting's indignation at how she'd stayed out until such a late hour. Ed watched from a safe distance, his brow furrowed and a sad frown on his face. He appreciated gratitude where it was due, but...

"I'm not the one who saved your life, Hermione," he murmured as the girl disappeared into the portrait hole. If only there was some way for her to hear him.

* * *

The sun had barely risen over the distant horizon. The school hallways were empty and silent, the lull of dawn lingering throughout practically the entire castle. Only so many people were crazy enough to be awake at this hour.

Somewhere, a door slammed shut. It was done so viciously that the sound reverberated through some of the walls, rousing the residents of several paintings within hearing range. They gazed about themselves blearily, surprised and curious. They asked questions of one another, curious as to what had awoken them. None of them had been awake enough, nor had they been close enough to the room to see just what was going on. Which was probably a good thing.

Because it was caused by Edward Elric in the midst of a rage.

He had called Alphonse out of the tower and dragged him into an empty, secluded classroom where he was sure no one would overhear them. It looked like Ed had barely slept, and what little he'd gotten had irritated the hell out of him. And the second the door was properly shut, Ed rounded on his little brother, eyes flashing.

"What the hell happened to you last night?! What, did you fall asleep?!"

The ferocious tone made Al flinch, lowering his head at once so he couldn't see Ed's face. The elder boy was practically glowering at him. It was quite a new experience for them both.

"Where the fuck _were _you?! You were supposed to be watching her!!"

Alphonse kept his head lowered, staring down at his armored feet, his hands clenched at his sides. "I'm sorry, I didn't think- Miss Hermione said-"

"She could've been _killed, _Al! _Voldemort_ got a hold of her, do you realize- Don't you get just how fucking serious this is?!"

"She just told me she'd be at the library, I didn't think she'd be harmed- I assumed she would be safe there-"

"You _assumed_?! Fuck, Al, you know better than that! After years of being with me at Central, at headquarters, after everything we've ever been through, Al, you know better than to assume somebody's safe at any given moment in a situation like this!"

"I-I'm sorry-"

"You're supposed to be watching her _all the time_, Al! I told you to be on your guard all the time, to always be close if something were to happen to her! SO JUST WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"

"I was with Ginny-"

"Ginny?! _GINNY_?! _Again_?! Dammit Al, you and your fucking hormones at work! This is no time to be- to be _flirting _and messing around!"

"I wasn't-!"

"You keep getting carried away with this place and that's gotta stop! We're not here to act like normal teenagers! This is serious business! People's lives are in danger! I thought we were perfectly clear on that!"

"I-I know and I'm sorry, I was being reckless and irresponsible-"

"Saying you're sorry isn't gonna undo what happened last night, Al! You can be sorry all you like but that's not gonna fix things! I swear, it's like you- Do you have _any idea_ what kind of repercussions we're looking at here?!"

"I'm sor-"

"I can't believe you let her get kidnapped right out from under your damn nose!"

Al let out a small sound, like a sad whimper. "I'm sorry..."

The noise stopped Ed mid-tirade, making a pang of guilt resonate through him. He tightly clenched his jaw and looked away, taking a deep breath through his nostrils in order to calm himself. He really had to stop yelling.

"I'm so sorry, nii-san," Al went on in that same sad, quiet tone. "I should have been there. I should have protected her..."

Ed clenched his jaw, looking over at his brother again. "Al. We're not here to go to school and learn and have fun like all the other people our age. You know that."

"Y-Yes."

"And we'll probably never be able to have that kind of life until we get your body back."

There was a short pause in which Ed was sure Al would have given a great sob were he able to. His armored hands balled into fists at his sides. "...Yes."

"We have a job to do here, and don't ever - _ever_ - forget that. We can't get too attached."

Suddenly, Al raised his head. "But it's not fair, nii-san! You get to be in the classrooms with the other students and pretend to be normal all the time while-"

Ed's brow furrowed. "What the hell're you-"

"-while I have to hide in the shadows and watch everyone from far away! Ginny and Hermione and their friends are the only people who'll have anything to do with me, who even know that I'm here... And I don't get to talk to them as much as I want to because of your mission!"

The elder brother was taken aback, his eyes growing wide for a moment before narrowing slightly again. "We're _leaving _at the end of the year, Al. Once we get everything settled here we're probably never coming back! We won't have _time _to, don't you understand that?"

"But I want to be able to make memories with the few friends that I've made here, nii-san! If I never see them again then I want to remember a time when I had a little fun! _You _get to talk to your new friends-"

"What 'friends'?!" Ed burst out, cutting him off and throwing his hands up in exasperation. "You think I _like _hanging around the Slytherins?! Malfoy and Zabini and Parkinson and those two retarded flesh golems- They're _hardly _what I would consider _friends_! They're just _there_!"

"But at least you get to talk to other people our age and do relatively normal things with them!"

"What, _you _wanna go hang out with those idiots? Be my guest! I don't stay with them because I _like _them, you of all people should know that, Al!"

"You could at least try!" Al shot back, his voice having a slight quiver to it, as though he were crying. "You could _try _to like them-"

Ed snorted derisively. "Have you _seen _them lately?! There's not a whole lot to like!"

Al didn't seem to have heard. "You could try to like this place, to like being here! But you don't, you just stand there and complain and wish you were someplace else doing something you think is more worthwhile!"

"Al, you have no idea what-"

"You've been given a shot at being a normal teenager! And you don't care!" A sound reverberated out of the suit of armor that sounded suspiciously like an honest to goodness sob. "I-I'd do anything for that chance..."

Edward was shocked, stunned into silence, staring at Al in an odd mix of fear and sadness. He was confused. For the past five years, he had done nothing but search for a way to give Al that chance. And it was because of the fact that he'd been whisked away into a place where he could no longer continue that search that Ed was so bothered with this mission. In that regard, it was like they were wasting precious time in Hogwarts. He needed to get back home and back to his _real _work of restoring Al's body to normal. Surely Al knew that.

"Th-That's why..." Al's voice was shaking considerably, as though he could barely control it. He bowed his head again. "I just wanted to see... I thought it would okay if- if only just for a moment..."

A silence fell over the room, Ed just looking at his younger brother. His whole expression slowly softened. He'd worked Al too hard. He should have understood his situation better. He'd just gotten so caught up in trying to fix what was happening with Draco and Hermione, what with that issue carrying some portion of the world's fate on its shoulders, that somewhere in the middle of it all he'd neglected to acknowledge the feelings of his own brother.

Some big brother he was. He was turning out to be just like Mustang.

He reached out and laid a hand on top of Al's helmet, patting him gently in silent apology. A short tremor ran through the armored body before it stilled again. Ed left his hand where it was for a while, letting the unspoken understanding between them linger in the air around them.

_I'm sorry for not understanding._

_I'm sorry for letting you down._

They stayed like that for a while, neither brother saying a word, until Ed finally let his hand slide off Al's helmet and drop back down to his side. Al also straightened, raising his head to look at his older brother as he absently mussed over his hair.

"So... What are you gonna do now, nii-san?"

Ed looked thoughtful a moment, then shrugged. "I've gotta find a way to fix things between Draco and Hermione. Melodramatic as it sounds, everything seems to be riding on them right now."

"Maybe if you could get them to just talk to each other..."

At the suggestion Ed shot Al a skeptical look, cocking an eyebrow. "Al. That's like trying to make the world's flow move in the opposite direction. It's not gonna happen. Not any time soon, anyway."

Alphonse sighed softly. "Then- what are you gonna do?"

Now done with fixing up his braid, Ed paused thoughtfully. "They need to understand one another. So first things first, I want both sides of the story. Get the whole situation straight in my head so I've got a better grasp on what I'm trying to do here."

"Right," Al said with a firm nod of his head. "So...?"

"So I need to talk to them," Ed went on, nodding as well and already heading for the door. "Already spoke to Hermione about it, more or less. So right now..." He grimaced slightly. "Gotta talk to Draco."

* * *

And as Ed's luck would have it, during the one time of the entire day that he may have gotten a chance to confront Draco alone, the Malfoy heir had mysteriously vanished. Again. Ed lingered just outside of the Great Hall, making an immense effort to ignore the growling, rumbling protests of his stomach as he waited for him to show up. The bastard had been missing since the end of their last class a few hours earlier.

Ed was getting worried. Which was disconcerting in itself, since he was rarely worried for anyone that wasn't his younger brother, but it was the truth. Ed was worried about Draco and Hermione. He'd never seen them so broken or shaken as he had last night, and yet all day during class, they seemed more or less normal. Sure, Hermione had been somewhat quieter, a little more subdued in her eagerness to answer questions than she usually was, but overall it was as though nothing had happened. No one would even have noticed if they weren't _looking _for any changes in her demeanor, which was exactly what Ed had been doing. Draco was silent, but tense and almost jumpy as he kept shooting expectant looks in her direction. Ed was almost certain that this repression of emotions couldn't be good for them (he'd had quite a bit of experience in doing such a thing himself), and that was precisely why he worried about them.

And now Draco had gone missing, and just thinking about the possibilities of what he could be doing on his own this time made Ed fidgety. He knew Hermione was already inside eating dinner, he'd seen her walk in with Harry, Ron, and Ginny (Alphonse always stayed away during mealtimes, probably keeping to the common room and playing with Hermione's cat) so there was no need to worry about her. But Ed was going to be very angry if he found out that Draco was huddled in a bathroom trying to slit his wrists or something to that effect...

He may have to check the bathrooms first.

At length, Ed gave up on waiting and went into the Great Hall. Draco wasn't so pathetic that he'd try to end his life in such a demeaning way. So Ed decided that if the Malfoy heir decided to show up for dinner, he'd show up, and that would be it. There was really no need to be so worried. Really, what did he even care if Draco missed yet another meal? It was almost normal for him not to eat dinner with everyone else...

Ed made his way to the Slytherin table, doing his best not to look like he was worried about Draco and his whereabouts. Nodding his head at the others in greeting, he slipped into an empty spot along the bench next to Zabini and reached over to grab a mozzarella stick to start his dinner off. He spared a nonchalant glance across the table, at the empty spot next to Pansy that practically had Draco's name written on it, then at Pansy herself. And much to Ed's surprise, the Slytherin girl was not in her usual place. She was farther down the bench, with a group of girls, conversing with them casually.

Zabini casually draped an arm over Ed's good shoulder and leaned on him, casually munching a chicken breast strip. "Odd for you to come down late for dinner, Elric."

"I took a nap and overslept, that's all," he muttered, biting into his mozzarella stick.

The Slytherin laughed, clearly amused. "Y'know something, Elric? You sleep almost as much as you eat!"

Ed raised an eyebrow, shooting Zabini an annoyed look. "So?"

"It's funny, that's all," he replied, smirking slightly.

"So glad I amuse you," Ed drawled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

The smirk on Zabini's face grew, as did Ed's scowl.

_Dammit_. Why did Pansy have to choose _tonight _to be completely unconcerned about where Draco had gone off to during dinner? She almost always pulled Ed aside and begged and pleaded and whined in her annoying way for him to find him and bring him downstairs when this sort of thing happened. Go figure: she was only going to behave like that when Ed didn't find himself _needing _her to. He never thought he'd ever find himself actually wanting her to be that way again.

He scarfed down the rest of his mozzarella stick and then reached for another one. Zabini was still talking, but damned if Ed knew what he was talking about. It didn't matter much to him either way. It was probably about school or which girl he was feeling the urge to "shag" at the moment, or some other completely worthless thing. Ed had gotten very good at tuning him out when he wasn't saying anything of interest. Which happened to be quite often.

Before Ed could stop himself, his eyes swept across the Great Hall, once again searching for that familiar bleach blonde head. He still hadn't come in. Crabbe and Goyle had apparently just walked in, chortling about something (probably about some lower year they'd shoved out of their way to get to the Hall). It seemed like Draco had let them loose for the day. It was strange seeing them as truly sentient, autonomous beings.

Dammit. He needed a reason to leave the Great Hall so he could find that Slytherin asshole.

"Are you alright, Eddy?"

He turned back at the sound of Pansy's voice, blinking in surprise. "What?"

The Slytherin girl had suddenly moved closer and was studying him carefully, a slight, pouty frown on her face. "Is something wrong?"

Ed's brow furrowed and he slowly shook his head. "No, nothing. Why?"

She gestured at the empty plate in front of him. "You haven't dumped everything within reach onto your plate."

Next to him, Zabini laughed so suddenly he nearly choked on his pumpkin juice. Ed made a face. When the hell had Pansy become such an expert on his behavioral patterns? As though he'd read his mind, Zabini thumped Ed heartily on the back, laughing raucously.

"We're not _completely _daft, Elric! You've been stuck with us for the entire term, you think we hadn't learned anything about you?"

Ed scowled, grabbing a breadstick to chomp down on. _'I'd been hoping you hadn't.'_

Zabini grinned cheekily and elbowed Ed lightly in his side. "Care to share? Maybe we can help you out, eh?"

"No. And I _highly _doubt that."

Pansy's face fell into a pout. "Don't be like that, Eddy. What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," Ed practically snapped. "Go mind your own business."

At that, Pansy looked thoroughly miffed and she straightened, her arms folded over her chest. Persistent as always, Zabini gave Ed another light nudge. "You can tell _me_, eh, Elric?" He then leaned closer, lowering his voice so Pansy couldn't hear. "It's girl troubles, innit?"

The scowl on Ed's face grew deeper as he pulled away, practically recoiling from the words. "Hell no! Sheesh, don't mix me up with you and your perverted friends!"

Having caught on to what had been whispered Pansy quirked an eyebrow, pursing her lips into a suggestive smile (or what was probably intended to be one, at any rate). "We _can _help you with that, Eddy..."

A smirk slowly crawled over Zabini's face. "You can't fool me, Elric. I'm onto you."

Ed glared at them both. Sometimes he wondered if _all _Slytherins were this sex-obsessed. He felt pretty sure Pansy didn't get any loving of the sort she kept offering to dish out, so that offered some small measure of comfort. Zabini and his other friends were another story entirely. Ed simply couldn't understand it. He frowned disapprovingly at them both, shaking his head and turning away.

On the plus side, the awkwardness of this situation gave Ed a reason to leave. True, it was sort of at the expense of his reputation and pride, but he could think about that later.

He stood abruptly, grabbing another stick of garlic bread for himself. "I don't have to take this shit from you guys."

Zabini whooped teasingly, inciting his friends nearby to do the same. "Hit a nerve, did we? So it _must _be true!"

Ed growled at them, taking the initiative to storm off. _'Bastards. I'll have my revenge on you morons yet.' _

He walked down into the dungeons and into the Slytherin common room, then marched right up into the dormitory. He didn't really think it necessary to knock, since he sort of doubted anybody would actually be in there. It was like a little formality: check the bedroom. It was like a starting point that he had set for himself. So when he opened the door, he took a quick, sweeping glance over the entire room before moving to leave again. He had to stop and do a double take as he did so.

A familiar head of platinum blonde hair was just visible from behind Draco's bed. Carefully, Ed moved around to get a better view of the other boy. Draco was sitting on the floor, his back resting against the side of the bed with his knees drawn up to his chest. His silver eyes were blank as they stared off into space. It sort of looked as though the boy was going to cry, but there wasn't a single trace of wetness in his eyes.

Ed approached slowly, a frown on his face. Now that he'd found him, Ed was quite determined to dragging the Malfoy heir's ass down to the Great Hall so that he could possibly pick his meal up where he left off. He honestly _was_ hungry, and it had pained him to have to cut his dinner short like that. Of course, these hunger pains wouldn't happen at all if Draco would stop disappearing during mealtimes.

"Y'know," he muttered, a little huffy in light of his rumbling stomach, "maybe you didn't notice, but it's dinner time and everyone's gone down to the Great Hall. Like most _normal _people do when that time of day comes around."

Silence. Draco had barely even moved as Ed came to a stop near the foot of the bed, looking down at him with his arms folded over his chest. He made a face.

"You're missing an absolutely fantastic meal right now. And you're making _me _miss out, too."

The silence from the other boy stretched onward. It was as though Ed wasn't even there.

Ed quirked an eyebrow, taking a step closer. "Malfoy?"

Draco continued to stare ahead of him, his silver-colored eyes dull and blank. Ed moved a little bit closer to him, his brow starting to furrow as he took not of the unusual position Draco was in. It was just... off. It didn't suit him somehow.

"Malfoy, come on..."

He took a step closer and his boot hit against something that had been on the floor. Ed looked down to see what it was and, finding a rolled up copy of the_ Daily Prophet_ before him, bent down to pick it up. Curiosity getting the better of him, he shook the paper out, his eyes moving across the front page. Draco must have been reading it before Ed had come into the dorm, and Ed found himself scanning the printed words in search of whatever it was that he'd been looking at.

"Looks like there've been more Dementor attacks," Ed muttered as he idly flipped through the pages. He leaned against the bed post for support and glanced over at Draco to see his reaction to what he'd said. When the Malfoy heir didn't even twitch an eyebrow, Ed returned his attention to the newspaper and continued perusing its contents. "More accidents... Muggle hit by a misfired lightning spell. Geez, _that's_ pleasant... Hey, I didn't know the _Daily Prophet_ put out ads for Muggle stuff. That's kinda off... 'Paranoid wizard creates small disturbance over purchase of Dark Art detectors'... Huh. Madam Malkin's is having a huge blowout sale..."

"Mental."

Ed blinked, surprised to have suddenly heard Draco speak, his voice soft and slow. How had the blowout sale advertisement solicited a reaction, but not any of the accidents he'd mentioned? He turned slightly to look over at Draco, lowering the paper from his field of vision. "What?"

"She's mental," he said again, his voice just as slow but a little louder this time.

Edward's brow furrowed in confusion and he looked back down at the article in question. "Who is? You mean Madam Malkin? I don't think her having this huge sale is really grounds for being insane-"

"You'd think she'd say something, _any_thing!" Draco spat out suddenly, a look of anger and annoyance flashing in his eyes. "I've known her for six years, she can't keep her bloody mouth shut!"

Now the boy was just making hardly any sense at all. Ed was completely confused as he let his eyes scan through the article for a moment longer. Maybe he'd missed something about the woman's mental health in there. Though he had serious doubts that such a thing would be mentioned in a newspaper ad. "So she's nuts _and _a gossip?"

"For someone so renowned for their intelligence," Draco drawled, sounding mildly annoyed, "you're bloody daft, Elric."

A small vein in Ed's temple throbbed as he turned back to shoot Draco a venomous, annoyed look. But before he could open his mouth to give a snippy retort, he was cut off.

"What happened to Granger when you brought her back to the castle?"

The question caught Ed off-guard and he blinked in surprise. Then, slowly, the haze that hunger had put over his mind began to clear away and he realized what exactly Draco was talking about. His face fell, his eyes taking on a serious gleam as he looked away from the other's face, back down at the paper with a blank expression.

"I just brought her up to Gryffindor tower," he said flatly. "And that was it."

"_What_?" snapped Draco, shooting Ed an angry glare. "Why didn't you fucking take her to the infirmary?! Do you _know _how long they tortured her?!"

Ed frowned in annoyance, roughly closing the newspaper and almost thrusting it back down to the floor as he faced Draco again. "You think I didn't try to get her to go?! She wouldn't listen to me!"

Draco turned away, his expression twisting into a frustrated scowl. "What the bloody hell is wrong with her?! Why the fuck isn't she saying anything?! I could've _killed _her! Was _going to_, as a matter of fact!" He let out a sort of growl, shoving his fingers through his hair. "WAS GRANGER BLIND OR SOMETHING?! THAT GIRL IS MORE STUPID THAN I THOUGHT!"

The frown on Ed's face deepened into a scowl as he turned to kick the crumpled newspaper on the floor away from him. "You wouldn't have killed her," he said in a firm yet soft voice, slipping his hands into his pockets.

A pair of silver-colored eyes finally turned to look over at Ed, flashing with indignant anger. "Were you not there? Did you not see what-"

Ed set Draco with a stern, solemn look, his gold eyes flashing right back as he cut him off mid-sentence. "I _was _there," he said in an almost chillingly serious voice. "That's exactly my point. And I have to say," he added just a little more casually, looking away with a small shrug, "all things considered, I was pretty impressed."

The Malfoy heir gave him an incredulous look. "What the hell are you on about?" he asked, his voice lowering. "If it wasn't for you, she would have been dead."

"You lowered your wand." It was a simple, blunt statement. As far as Ed was concerned, it was an inarguable fact. "I saw you lower your wand, Malfoy. Whether I was there or not, you still wouldn't have killed her."

Draco's eyes grew wide. He looked utterly speechless. "I..." He shook it off, looking away from Ed once more. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, barely even audible. "You don't know what you're talking about. What makes you think I wanted her to live? After all she's put me through, you honestly think I'd care if she died?"

Edward rolled his eyes. These sounded like some horribly stupid questions. The answers seemed so glaringly obvious... They just had to be rhetorical.

"If she had died then and there," Draco went on, "I wouldn't be in this fucking mess! If she had died then and there, I'd be able to live without further distraction! If she had died then and there, this utter torment of my fucking infatuation with her would end! I should have just ended her life! Who the hell is going to protect her now? Why the hell did I hesitate?"

Ed frowned, folding his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow at Draco. Was he _serious_? "Do you _honestly _want me answering those questions for you, Malfoy?"

Draco turned away from him, a scowl on his face as he seemed to ignore Ed's question. "What is she playing at? She told nobody, not even Potter..."

"_Obviously _she didn't tell Harry," Ed muttered, rolling his eyes.

"But _why not_, Elric?!" the Malfoy heir raged, turning his frustrated gaze on him again. "Why the bloody fucking hell not?!"

Ed rounded on Draco, eyes flashing. "Y'know, I've been wondering that myself. Why _not _throw the bastard that nearly killed her into the big house to rot. _I _sure as hell would've done it, without a second thought. Obviously you would, too. Attempted murder can be just as bad as murder itself, and we all know you pretty much deserve the jail time. But y'know what? Hermione's different. She's giving you yet _another _chance to be an actual human being and not some... some arrogant self serving spoiled rich _brat _that you make yourself out to be all the time. Consider yourself lucky that it was her and not somebody else!"

"Do you not remember?!" Malfoy shouted suddenly. "She _hates _me, every single part of me! I'm a fucking heartless monster to her, a bloody Death Eater, just exactly everything that she and Potter and Weasel had always believed me to be! She's not giving me a second chance, she's leaving me to wallow in my own guilt and-"

"Been there, done that, wrote the _fucking _book for it," Ed snorted, rolling his eyes. "You think you deserve to die, huh? Just 'cause you made a couple of stupid choices in a sudden moment of wanting to preserve something valuable to you?! I told you before, Malfoy, dying doesn't solve any of that."

"You didn't understand then, you don't understand now. I don't fucking expect you to."

"Look, whatever the hell she said, she said it because she was scared. Who the hell wouldn't be scared in a situation like that, huh? She didn't mean it, not really, and I'd say the fact that she hasn't already gone and turned you in is proof."

It was Draco's turn to round on Edward, his voice rising in an almost desperate hysteria. "Everyone will die, Elric! _Everyone_. You, her, me and my family... That- that- _He_'s going to kill everybody, no questions asked. Don't you get that?!"

A tense silence fell as their angry gazes locked. A deep frown pulled at the corners of Ed's lips as he looked at him, his amber gold eyes hard and unyielding and unconvinced. They once again clashed with the cerulean silver, and a silent war waged between them. Ed wasn't going to let Draco win this. If he did, everything would fall apart.

"They don't _have _to die."

The silence stretched on as Draco stared back at him, such a confusion clouding his expression that he eventually had to look away with an angry scowl on his face. "You don't understand," he growled again, finally pulling himself up off the floor. "Leave me the bloody fuck alone."

Ed snorted again, softly, as Draco started to leave. His eyes narrowed slightly as they followed the blonde's movements, watching him head out the dorm room door and disappear beyond it.

_'Like hell I will.'_

* * *

The lines of communication had officially shut down. Draco was not talking to Ed, apart from the occasional "Pass me that, Elric" during class or at dinner, and "Shut the bloody hell up" whenever he tried to start a conversation. And that was only when other people were around to see. Draco gave little acknowledgement to Ed's presence, outside of promptly leaving the room any time it was reduced to just the two of them. Ed was getting frustrated.

Things weren't much better on Al's end, either. Any mention of the Slytherins, regardless of the context in which it was used, made Hermione fall uncharacteristically silent. She was also suddenly very jumpy and tense around Alphonse. Only a few people seemed to have noticed this if any at all, Ginny and Luna among them. Harry seemed preoccupied with something else, and Ron had simply failed to notice it just yet.

The Elric brothers had never dealt with anything like this before. It wasn't a problem that could simply be beaten into non-existence. And it wasn't a matter of frustrated energy that needed to be spent, either. It was raw emotion and broken trust, and it seemed that nothing short of a miracle would be able to heal such wounds.

Edward absently twirled his wand between his fingers, his gaze set unseeingly on the far wall of the DADA classroom. Just over two weeks had passed since the incident, and not even the tiniest smidge of progress between them. _What to do...?_ How was he going to deal with this pale-haired snob seated next to him and the stubborn girl on the other side of the room? They were questions that demanded answers. Surely the situation wasn't as hopeless as all that. There had to be a solution. There had to be a way to get things out in the open. There just _had _to be. And Edward was determined to find it.

"I assume Mr. Elric knows?"

The low, discontented drawl of his name brought Ed back to the present. He looked around him at his classmates, blinking away his disorientation as he worked to slip back into his role of Edward Elric, Transfer Student at Hogwarts.

"Huh? What?"

A few of the other students sniggered to themselves as Snape moved to loom over Ed. The young blonde shifted his gaze and looked back up at the professor, undaunted by the sight of his dark, bat-like appearance. Snape's eyes moved almost lazily to the wand still being twirled by Ed's fingers. Frowning slightly as he got the message, Ed gave the wooden stick one final twirl, tapped the back end of it on the tabletop, and finally stilled his hand without looking away. Snape cleared his throat.

"Mr. Elric."

"Yes, sir."

There was a pause in which they both merely looked at one another in tense silence. It was like they were having a silent argument. It actually wasn't that rare a sight these days; by now Ed and Snape had had their fair share of face-offs like this, and the other students in the room were more than likely completely used to it.

"The question, Mr. Elric?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. Were you saying something important?"

Someone let out a sudden giggle, which was quickly smothered and silenced by a hand. Neither Ed nor Snape moved their eyes to see who it was, but Ed had to fight down a snicker. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"I expect much more from the members of my House, Mr. Elric. I demand that you treat your professors the way you should and as I've said, I do not take cheek from _anyone_."

"I should hope not, sir. Especially if it's got anything to do with their asses."

There was a scandalized gasp and a snort from the other side of the room, both of which were quickly silenced and ignored just as the giggle had been.

"Should you insist on being given detentions for your constant disrespect for authority, Mr. Elric, by all means, proceed with your current behavior."

His eyes narrowed some more as he turned and swept away. Ed rolled his eyes and settled into his seat, leaning forward on the table and resting his chin in one hand. A slight smirk played over his features as he muttered, largely to himself, "That shouldn't be too hard."

Snape caught the words and immediately turned back around. He glared at the cheeky grin plastered on Ed's face, moving slowly and threateningly to loom over him once again. Ed's grin never wavered, remaining absolutely genuine in its amusement.

"Five points from Slytherin," he all but hissed, his voice low in its declaration. "And Mr. Elric, I want you in my office after class. Is that clear?"

Ed barely managed to keep himself from snorting. _'Woof woof.' _ "Yes, sir."

As Snape turned and stalked back to the front of the class to resume the lesson, Zabini elbowed Ed roughly in his side and a wad of crumpled up parchment suddenly hit him in the head. Ed scowled at Zabini before shooting a glare at Nott, who he was sure was the one responsible for the paper ball. The subtracting House points thing was really the most tired, boring concept to Ed by now. He could have cared less. He'd probably lost about 115 points for Slytherin on his own, about half of which had been taken away by none other than Professor Snape himself. Ed thought it to be quite the impressive feat.

He tried to slip away amongst the other students when they all filed out of the room, but Snape must have been expecting that of him. Right as Ed was about to pass through the doorway, a hand darted out and took a firm hold of his automail arm. Knowing that resisting him would be completely useless in this situation, Ed groaned softly and resigned himself to his fate. He let Snape drag him down to his office (the bastard was refusing to let go of his arm the whole way), seething and fuming silently as he was thrown into the middle of the room when they got there.

Snape shut the door and moved, bat-like as ever, to stand between his desk and Edward. His dark eyes were cold and piercing as they leered down at Ed, but the boy remained fearless. He met the gaze with one of his own, one equally fierce and unyielding.

Finally, Snape spoke. "As I've said before, I do not know what it is the headmaster hopes to accomplish by bringing you here. But whatever it is, it looks as though it has yet to be done."

Ed quirked an eyebrow. "Ex_cuse_ me?"

"Do not play the fool with me, Mr. Elric. I know what you are."

"If you're talking about me being an exchange student here, then that's simple common knowledge. _Everybody_ knows that, sir."

"Of course," Snape drawled disinterestedly. "The 'very first exchange student in Hogwarts history.' Overseen by the headmaster himself."

Ed frowned slightly. "Are you saying you don't believe Professor Dumbledore? What happened to that precious trust you supposedly have in him?"

"I don't think that's any of your concern, Mr. Elric. There's a _reason _you're in Hogwarts, specifically in my House, Merlin forbid, and I know it's not because of the Sorting Hat."

"I'm here to learn and better myself, it's just my luck I'm stuck with you."

"That is where your claim remains unsubstantiated, given the fact that you merely twirl your wand while staring at the wall the whole period."

The frown on Ed's face grew, his brow furrowing slightly. "If you want me to apologize for having my own personal problems to work through, it's not happening. As a teacher, you shouldn't have the right to pry into my life outside of classwork."

Snape took a step forward, towering over Edward with that seemingly cruel look in his eyes. "Mr. Elric," he all but hissed dangerously. "I know you're lying. I know this has nothing to do with any sort of personal affair of _yours_."

To his credit, Ed was able to keep the look of surprise from growing beyond a simple quirk of the eyebrow. He was convinced now. He didn't really understand how it worked, having only read a few things about it in the wide assortment of books he'd picked up since arriving in Hogwarts, but there was still no mistaking it. Snape was reading his mind somehow. He'd somehow pried into his thoughts without him even realizing. Which had to mean Occlumency, considering that all the accounts he'd read about Legilimency often attributed the experience to feeling much like getting one's mind brutally raped. Snape had pulled information from Ed's mind slowly, it seemed, and without him consciously noticing. So it had to be the other thing.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, sir."

"You do not fool me."

He glared with all that he was worth. _Bastard. Get out of my head._

"There are more forceful methods to see through your lies, Mr. Elric. Do not make the mistake of presuming I would not resort to using them should I deem it necessary."

"There's no reason to be threatened by a mere student." Ed wouldn't break. He downright refused to give him the satisfaction. "Besides, I thought you trusted Professor Dumbledore. Do you really think he would just let me in here if he thought that I posed any danger to anyone in this school?"

The professor scowled his disapproval, saying nothing for a long, drawn out moment. Then finally he stepped back, turning sharply on his heel to sweep around his desk and lower himself into his chair. Ed remained motionless as he did this, only following him with his eyes.

"I'll let you proceed with your little game, Mr. Elric," Snape muttered with a faint hiss to his voice. "But as I've told you before... I will be keeping a _very _close eye on you."

"Of course, _sir_."

"Detention with me. Tonight after dinner. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

Snape nodded and made a vague gesture with his hand, dismissing him. "Go."

Without tearing his eyes away, Ed gave a small half-bow in the professor's direction, strictly out of military habit. Then he turned sharply on his heel and made to leave the office. Snape didn't move, watching him carefully from beneath the dark curtain of his hair, fingers tented.

"One last thing, Mr. Elric," Snape said suddenly, raising his voice just a bit and making Ed freeze with his hand pressed against the surface of the door. "And I'll make my thoughts on this very clear. You seem no more special to me than anyone else in this school. Whatever you have planned, I doubt you will find any success, given this."

The blonde wrinkled his nose into a disdainful sneer, despite the fact that Snape couldn't see it. _'We'll see about that.'_ "Really, sir. I doubt it will be that hard to pass the N.E.W.T. exams."

And with that, leaving that scowl embedded in Snape's features, Ed shoved open the door and headed out to dinner.

* * *

**Note: **WOO. nearly there! lots of exciting stuff to come, and boy do i EVER hope i get through it quicker than i did this one. at any rate, leave a review on your way out if ya love us reviews make me happy!


	38. Delivery

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold**_**  
by hikaranko**_

**Summary: **Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **The brilliant epicness of the Fullmetal Alchemist and Harry Potter series are, unfortunately, not mine. The right to claim ownership over these two fantastic stories go to Hiromu Arakawa (I LOVE HER SO HARD OMG) and J.K. Rowling (I LOVE HER TOO). The idea for this story, however, _does_ belong to me, and that's awesomely exciting! Mjade-1 is CSAG's godparent; without her, we would be utterly, utterly lost.

**Author's Note: **s-so… i am SO SORRY about how long this took to get up. i just- i was really apprehensive about it. i kept going over it again and again and again, and i wanted to be sure that it was working. and then i was stuck for a while, 'cause i wanted to at least have some transition between this chapter and the next before i put it up... i think it's okay now, though, so... HERE YOU GO. :3 Y'ALL DESERVE IT FOR BEING SO PATIENT.

sorry for the long long looooooong wait. buuut hopefully it's worth it?? i'll do my best to get the next one up faster!! thanks for all the reviews, they constantly remind me that there are people out there waiting for me to update. XD i'm awful, i know, BUT I'M WORKING ON IT. also, to everyone who saw my illustrations up on my dA account... I LUV YOU GUYS~

* * *

**Chapter 38****  
Delivery**

Ed's brow was furrowed in thought as he walked down the hallways toward Dumbledore's office, holding a note in front of him and staring at it rather intently. The headmaster had requested his presence. Some lower year had given the summon to him toward the end of dinner that night, and the way Ed saw it, meetings with Dumbledore took priority to detentions with Snape. Surely the sallow-faced bastard wouldn't mind giving up his favorite slave for a short while to the headmaster.

Still, even Edward was anxious about this meeting. He had a horrible feeling in his gut that he knew _exactly _what it was about, and he wasn't sure he was up to discussing it with the professor just yet. It was still such personal business, and Ed was still without a plan of attack. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of going up there and having nothing more to report than a falsely cheerful, "Yeah, everything's going to shit and your life is in danger and I need to get Draco and Hermione on relatively good terms at the very least_, _just so I can even begin to fix things. No idea how I'm gonna do all that yet but hey, I'm resourceful. Trust me!"

Yeah. That would go _really _well. He could already see the confusion and disappointment in Dumbledore's eyes.

He stopped in front of the gargoyle and gave the password, then waited until it had hopped aside so he could go up the moving spiral staircase. After a moment Ed found himself in front of the large doors of Dumbledore's office and he raised a hand to knock on its hard surface. Best to stay calm. It was always best to remain as calm as possible on the outside, even if on the inside he felt like a whirlwind of frustration and anger, pure chaos when he most wanted things to settle down.

"Enter," said the calm, familiar voice.

Ed didn't hesitate to obey, opening the door and slipping through the gap he'd created to properly enter the office. His eyes briefly wandered over the room, idly noting that nothing much had changed before settling on the wizened old man behind the desk. A smile spread across his face as Ed stopped in the middle of the office, looking up at him.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" he asked as politely as possible.

Dumbledore nodded slowly, leaning forward on his desk with his arms folded in front of him. His smile grew slightly and those light blue eyes seemed to twinkle, and he gestured vaguely toward the chairs before him with one hand. "Yes, I did. Please take a seat, Edward."

With a nod of his head, Ed moved to obey and carefully sat down in one of the offered chairs. "Sir... Have I done something wrong?"

"No, of course not," the headmaster said, shaking his head. "Simply... These past few weeks seem to have been most troubling to you and your charge. So I must ask you, Edward, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me."

Something inside Edward jumped, though it didn't show outside. As usual, Dumbledore's perceptiveness was nothing short of absolutely incredible, and Ed was almost certain now that the old wizard simply _knew _what was going on as opposed to just having hunches about it.

The whirlwind of his currently chaotic mind threw up about a million different things at once; Draco's reluctant involvement with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, the precarious situation his family found itself in, the innocent lives in danger, what had happened to Hermione... Ed knew he should tell the headmaster. He knew that if anybody had a right to know any of that, it was Albus Dumbledore. And yet it was as though an icy hand had taken a hold of his throat, forcing him to swallow the words that so wanted to break the surface, because telling someone else's secrets was like a betrayal of trust. No one needed any more complications to the situation, and there was no way of knowing what would happen once Dumbledore himself got involved.

"No, sir," he said firmly, keeping his face as passive and blank as possible.

Dumbledore looked at Edward from over the rim of his half-moon glasses. His light blue eyes seemed to see right through him. "Are you certain?"

Determined to hold firm, Ed nodded. "Yes, sir. Very certain."

The headmaster leaned back in his seat but his gaze never strayed from Ed's face, his eyes piercing despite the ever-present twinkle. When he spoke, his tone of voice was light and conversational, as though there really was nothing behind it but simple curiosity. "Colonel Mustang seems to be under the impression that there is."

"He's probably just annoyed that I haven't written lately," Ed said quickly with a dismissive shrug. "He can be clingy and attention craved when it comes to this assignment stuff. I think it's just because he misses doing actual field work."

Dumbledore nodded his head sagely, a hint of a smile on his lips. "You say all of this with the due respect, I assume?"

Ed tried not to let the small smile appearing on his face wane into a smirk. "Of course I do, sir. The _utmost_."

A tiny, knowing smile tugged at the corners of Dumbledore's lips, though his eyes took on a thoughtful glaze. After a moment, he stood and began to walk idly about the room.

"Perhaps it would be best if you did write to him, Edward," he said, picking up a long traveling cloak and draping it over his arm. "I often find that a failure to communicate amongst friends and colleagues often leads to unfortunate misunderstandings. I believe that things of utmost importance must never go unsaid. Even if it must be in the form of a simple letter."

Ed resisted the urge to give an exasperated roll of his eyes, but still let out a mildly annoyed breath. "Tell me about it... I learned that the hard way. They don't talk, they misunderstand things, and then everything just goes-"

He stopped himself abruptly, his gold eyes widening slightly. It was suddenly as though a light bulb had lit up over his head. Mentally, he beat himself up. How had he forgotten? How could he _possibly _have forgotten? Ed was going to have to get a message in to Al and find out where Hermione was, then quickly get back to the dorm - Dammit, he'd left the mirror in the drawer of the bedside table, that was going to delay him a bit...

Rude as it may or may not be to cut this meeting short, Ed had to leave. But first, he had to know. He had to at least ask. He looked up at Dumbledore, his face set into a hard expression of determination. The older man had moved to the window, his eyes trained on Edward with a definite, almost bemused twinkle behind his glasses. It was strange, but under the light of the sunset, Ed was suddenly very aware of just how old the professor was.

"Sir, how did you-"

There was a sudden, urgent hammering on the door that drew the attention of both occupants of the room. Ed barely sustained himself from jumping in surprise at the loud noise and he turned around to look at it. Dumbledore, on the other hand, seemed unaffected. He merely turned to look out the window and over the grounds, his wizened features becoming more pronounced under the orange tint of the sunset. He hadn't even finished saying "Enter" before Harry Potter threw open the doors and flung himself into the office.

Edward gave Harry a confused look that apparently stopped him in his tracks. Harry's face was flushed and he seemed to be taking deep, gulping breaths; he'd obviously ran all the way here. His green eyes were wide and bright, and Ed recognized the urgency behind them right away. Though he also recognized the question he saw on Harry's face, knowing perfectly well that Harry wanted to know just what in the world Ed was discussing with the professor. Quickly making up his mind, Ed turned back toward Dumbledore and gave a deep, grateful nod of his head.

"Thank you for your advice, Professor," he said smoothly, picking up in the middle of a conversation that hadn't quite happened. "I'll write to him as soon as I can."

Dumbledore nodded, briefly looking away from the window to glance knowingly at him. Ed gave a short bow in his direction, a deeply instilled habitual action, and turned to go. He nodded at Harry as he walked past him to the door.

"See ya, Harry."

"Er, yeah..."

The curiosity in Harry's eyes was glaringly obvious and Ed had to resist giving an amused half-smile in order to keep himself as inconspicuous as possible. As he slipped out of the office and started heading back to the dungeons, Ed could've sworn he'd heard Harry ask Dumbledore something about what had just happened but paid it no mind. Dealing with Harry's curiosity could wait for after he got this done.

There was a letter in his trunk that needed to be delivered.

* * *

"Where's Malfoy?"

Ed had thrown the question out to the Slytherins the moment he'd entered the common room, not bothering to sweep his eyes over the room to check who was already there. He was already certain about who was there, for the most part: Zabini and Pansy, and maybe a few others whose names and faces were of little importance to Edward and had therefore been forgotten.

"Just missed him, mate," drawled Zabini, not looking up from the game of Wizard's chess he'd involved himself in. "Dunno where he went off to, but I think he was with Nott. Looking for him?"

"Not really," Ed responded casually as he crossed the room. And for once, it was true. The part about his being with Nott was strange, but he could worry about Draco once he'd dealt with Hermione and eased her rage toward him. "Just asking."

Zabini nodded absently, his eyes fixated on the chess board in front of him. "Didn't you say you got a detention with Snape again?"

Ed shrugged, waving a hand dismissively. "Later."

"Ah... Right." The boy then fell silent, staring at his pieces as the boy across from him leaned back in his seat and looked on.

The blonde's eyebrows arched upward. He'd never seen Zabini so serious about something before. But knowing him, there was probably a date with some hot girl at stake. He glanced at the board, taking in the formation of the pieces as he passed them. He supposed it couldn't hurt to help Zabini out every once in a while.

"Rook B7 to E7," he stated simply, and then turned his attention away again. Idly, he wondered why it was taking Zabini so long to see such an obvious move. "Need to take his rook."

The black boy blinked, his eyes wandering the path of the chess move on the board, and grinned. His opponent scowled as he ordered the suggested move to his pieces, and soon cheerfully announced, "Checkmate." Blaise laughed heartily at this victory, however assisted, as Ed ascended the stairs to the dormitory. He paid them no further mind.

Once he got to the room, he sprang into action. He first went to the table by his bed, throwing the drawer open and fishing around for the Two-Way Mirror. As soon as he had that in hand and had said Al's name into it, he leapt at his trunk. He laid the mirror down on the floor while waiting for Al's armored face to flicker into existence on its surface and busied himself with digging through the mess in his trunk. He had pulled out a mother lode of books, his cauldron, several rolls of parchment and three bottles of ink by the time Al's face appeared in the mirror.

"Nii-san?" Al must have been confused by the fact that Ed wasn't properly looking into the mirror.

"Al-" Ed paused in his rummaging to pick up the mirror and address his little brother. "-where's Hermione right now?"

The younger Elric seemed confused. "What?"

"Hermione. Where is she? Is she with you?" Ed moved back to his trunk and continued his rummaging one-handed.

"Oh! Um, yes, she's... She's here in the common room, with Mr. Ron. Why?"

Ed nodded, shoving aside some more books. "Alright. Good."

There was a beat of tense, anxious silence. "Is something going on, nii-san?"

He didn't answer right away. His brow just furrowed as he continued his search for the letter.

"Nii-san...?"

"Don't worry about it, Al."

"But..."

Ed turned back for a moment, giving Alphonse a tired look before speaking, his tone more or less gentle. He really didn't like all this secret-keeping he had to do with his brother, but it was all for Draco and Hermione's sakes. He'd tell Al everything once it was over. "I said not to worry about it."

"O-Okay then, nii-san. I'll let you know if she goes anywhere." Another pause. Then, quietly, "You've thought of something."

He hesitated before answering, pausing in his motions as he pulled a few more things out. He'd nearly hit the bottom, and already he could see the envelope of documents he'd received from Amestrian military intelligence way back when, nestled at the very bottom. For a second he just stared at it, then finally pulled back and gave Al a small, anxious smile through the mirror.

"Let's hope."

Al nodded, and Ed could tell that he was indeed already very hopeful. "Okay."

Edward nodded back, then pushed the mirror away and turned to look back into his trunk. Tucked under the flap of the envelope was a worn-looking piece of parchment. He'd folded it in an attempt to keep it from falling into any worse shape than it already was, but its surface was still soft and crumpled; there was no helping that.

Carefully, as though he were dealing with something extremely old and delicate, Ed pulled Draco's letter out and sat back on his haunches. Some of the words written within it bubbled forth in his memory, floating unbidden in the very forefront of his mind. He frowned, disconcerted. This needed to get to Hermione, didn't it? The school year would be over in a matter of weeks, and he doubted he had much time to dawdle if he was going to deliver it on Draco's behalf.

But that sounded so strange. Giving someone a letter of heartbreak and confession on _somebody else's _behalf... How much more meddlesome could a person get?! But it had to get to Hermione. All the miscommunication had to come to an end so that the mess they'd gotten themselves into would clear itself up more easily. To get a true Gryffindor and a true Slytherin (not a fake one like Ed) to see eye to eye... It was a daunting task. More than likely this letter would act as a catalyst, but...

This was so confusing.

As a precaution, Ed tucked the letter into his inside robe pocket and set about returning everything he'd pulled out to its proper place in the trunk. He eventually gave up on keeping some semblance of order and just dumped everything inside (a bottle of ink may have gotten cracked when it hit the side of his cauldron, he didn't feel up to checking). He slipped the Two-Way Mirror into the same pocket as the letter and then headed back out.

Ed felt pretty sure that he should be going to Snape's office and serve out his detention. That's what he told Blaise and Pansy he'd be doing as he left the common room. If nothing else, it was simply for the sake of upholding his claim as a normal student, regardless of whether or not the bastard had more or less caught him. But he didn't really care. Snape could wait a little longer, and he could always say that he had to do something for the headmaster before going to detention. Which was more or less true. So once the entrance to the Slytherin common room had slid shut behind him, Ed turned sharply on his heel in the opposite direction of the professor's office.

He wanted to deliver Hermione's letter. He knew he really should, since her reaction to its contents could potentially completely turn the situation around. But he had no guarantee. For all he knew, Hermione would think it was some elaborate prank, and Ed was fairly certain that she'd be in no mood to deal with it as such. He could probably explain the gravity and the seriousness of the letter to her as he handed the thing over, but that was _way _too meddlesome. He was already treading the fine line.

He was just turning the corner to head up the flight of stairs leading out of the dungeon when he saw the most unusual sight of a very pleased-looking Nott heading down the stairs toward the common room. At once, both boys stopped, looking at one another with some measure of surprise on both their faces. A frown pulled at Ed's lips, his eyes narrowing. He didn't like Nott, didn't trust him, given the simple fact that Theodore Nott was a Death Eater (or at least he was one in training). The boy was wicked and disturbing, and even now, just with the way he looked down at Ed from his higher step in the stairway with his head tilted slightly to one side, he _really _pissed Ed off.

After a moment, Nott straightened himself and smirked. Ed narrowed his eyes even more at that expression on his face, not liking it there at all. It very obviously meant _nothing_ good. He didn't want to know if that twisted bastard had been out torturing kittens up and down the school hallways or attacking Gryffindors for no reason other than to get a rise out of their misery. With restrictions and unofficial protocol on "how Slytherins deal with Slytherins" keeping Edward's clenched fist secure in his pocket where it couldn't hit people, he'd remained quiet through it all. But right at that second, Ed had a strong hunch that whatever he was smirking about was _far worse_ than the sick games he'd played before.

"What's got _you _in such a good mood, Nott?" He danced around the real question, trying to make himself sound casual and dismissive though his eyes remained narrowed and alert. "Torture a squirrel in the courtyard? Did it finally fess up about how you can make yourself look less dirty?"

His taunt was simply ignored, Nott snorting softly as though he couldn't believe Ed's "ignorance". And then Nott was moving, striding - no, _strutting_ down the rest of the stairs, choosing now to act as though Ed wasn't there at all. Edward remained perfectly still, his eyes following his movements warily, using all his self-control to keep from shoving the boy into the wall and beating him into confession. It was even harder when Nott accidentally-on-purpose shouldered into his left side, bumping him back to the point where Ed nearly staggered. And then he stopped right behind him, and Ed could swear the bastard was still smirking.

"You better watch your back, Elric," he whispered in a low, cruel voice.

"That a threat?"

Nott didn't answer directly. He merely chuckled darkly under his breath and continued on his way, leaving Ed twitching angrily at the foot of the staircase.

The instant Nott had disappeared behind the sliding stone wall, Ed took off, continuing his own trip up toward Gryffindor tower at a more hurried pace than before. What the hell was going on? What the hell was Nott talking about? He couldn't mean what Ed thought he meant, right?

The whirlwind of thoughts in Ed's mind carried him all the way up through the castle, up staircases and down hallways almost automatically. His conscious mind wasn't even fully aware of where his feet were taking him, and it was only when he came to a stop did he take notice of it. He was standing in the middle of the hallway on the seventh floor, facing a stretch of blank stone wall across the way from a tapestry of dancing ghouls.

Draco's secret room.

Ed frowned at it, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. This blank stretch of wall _really _pissed him off. It was beyond frustrating; months had gone by, and he still didn't know what it was Draco was doing on the other side. Idly he wondered if he was in there right at that very moment, working on whatever it was he was working on. _Help the Death Eaters get inside the castle_... That was all Ed knew. He still didn't know how he was doing it, or when it would be done, but it was obvious to anyone with half a brain mass that it wouldn't be a good thing at all for anyone.

"Get out of here."

The voice, quiet and strained and seeming to come out of nowhere, made Ed whirl around to face it. And he blinked owlishly at the sight before him.

For a second, Ed thought he was seeing things. Draco looked awful. His skin was ashen and his eyes had sunken so deeply into their sockets they almost couldn't be seen from the shadows. What little _could _be seen of his eyes seemed dull, deadened somehow. Where there had once been a fierce, defiant gleam within depths of silver, there was nothing. In fact, his entire expression made it seem as though all the life had gone from his features. How so much about him had changed in less than twenty-four hours, Ed was almost afraid to know.

"Malfoy... You look like shit."

Those dull gray eyes slowly shifted away. Ed's brow furrowed as he took one small, careful, almost uncertain step toward him. He got the distinct impression that Draco would try to run if he got too close or made one wrong move, and that was the last thing he wanted happening. Ed wanted to get some answers.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Draco shook his head slowly, his gaze seeming to long on the blank stretch of wall behind Edward. The blonde barely managed to resist glancing back over at it as well, every fiber of his body going on high alert. This was very, _very _bad.

"Get out of here," Draco said again, softly. "Get out of Hogwarts. While you still can."

Ed could've sworn his blood went cold. He was suddenly rooted to the spot, unable to make himself move, his eyes wide and staring at Draco in shock and confusion. He almost didn't want to believe this was real. He didn't want it to be real. It _couldn't _be real. Not _now_, just whenEd had only just figured out how to solve part of the puzzle.

But before Ed could get to say anything, Draco was leaving. He turned and headed down the hallway, making his way somehow painfully to the stairwell on the far side. Ed watched him for a moment, stunned and horrified and panicked. First Nott, now Draco...

Hermione. He had to make sure Hermione was okay.

And suddenly he was hurrying again, making his way to Gryffindor tower, hands tightly balled into fists as he kept going. He then pulled out the mirror from his inner pocket, calling Al's name into it. How much time did they have left to them? For how much longer would they be able to evacuate people if it became necessary?

Dumbledore. He should tell Dumbledore that something had happened, and everything was about to fall to shit. Was there time for that?

Hermione first. He was nearly there.

He all but jumped on the portrait when he arrived, banging his fists against the surface and yelling right into the Fat Lady's face.

"ALPHONSE!"

"What business does a _Slytherin _have here?!" she cried out indignantly, narrowing her eyes slightly at him and folding her arms. "The very _least _you could do is keep your voice down!!"

Ed ignored her protests and simply grabbed onto the side of the frame, pulling at it with a grunt, wanting to pull it clear off the wall to let him through. It was annoying really. Sometimes the things he had to deal with in this place _really _got to him.

The Fat Lady gasped in horror at his efforts. "Re_lease_ the frame at _once_!"

"I will when you op-"

Right at that moment, the portrait swung open, dragging Ed along a little ways before he let go. He staggered just a little bit, blinking in affected surprise and then looked to see who was there.

"Nii-san, what are you doing up here? You're making a huge racket, and people are trying to study in here, you know."

Al stood in the doorway, giving Edward an exasperated look (as best as he could as armor anyway, though Ed knew it right off the bat), his great armored figure looming over him in the portrait hole. Ed straightened quickly, frowning up at his younger brother and making an indignant noise.

"Where's Hermione?" He moved to brush past Alphonse and get right into the common room.

"She's right in here, I told you so earlier..." He turned to follow Ed back inside, an air of confusion about him. "What's going on? Harry was in here earlier and- he was saying a whole bunch of strange things and telling everyone to do things, giving them stuff... It sounded urgent, but- it was really confusing, even Ron and Hermione didn't know what was happening..."

Ed was barely paying attention to what his younger brother was saying. He just nodded absently to everything, his gaze set in a straight line before him. He wanted to see a safe Hermione with his own two eyes. Not that he didn't trust Al to tell the truth, but somehow it was just better that way.

He all but ran into the main area, head swiveling from side to side. "Hermione?!? HERMIONE!!"

Apparently his shout had been a good deal louder than he would've thought, as several things seemed to happen all at once because of it. One boy with sandy hair just about toppled over backwards in the desk chair he'd been sitting on in surprise, and a black boy seated near him was so startled by the commotion that he suddenly jabbed the quill he'd been writing with into the arm of a round-faced boy next to him, who howled loudly in his pain and shock. Several other Gryffindors scattered about the common room all turned to look at Edward, many of their expressions clouded with confusion. A few even frowned deeply at the Slytherin robes, tensing up suddenly as though they thought Ed was about to do something horrible to them all.

None of them were any of Ed's concern for the moment. His gaze quickly sweeped over the room, locking onto Hermione when he found her. It seemed she'd been busy preparing something with Ron and Ginny, all of them looking quite a lot like they were about to head out. But the moment they saw Ed, they all seemed to have frozen in place. They all looked just as surprised and puzzled as everyone else to see him, though Ron also seemed to have gone on the defensive, scooting closer to Hermione as though he intended to protect her.

"Edward?"

Ginny tilted her head slightly to one side, brow furrowing. "You alright, Ed? You gave us quite a scare just now."

"Good, you really are still here," Ed said as he bee-lined toward them, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Good."

"I told you so, nii-san." An exasperated sigh reverberated through Al's hollow chest as he followed closely. "There's nothing to worry about."

Hermione exchanged that confused look with the others before turning back again. "Edward, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, just - I thought that maybe..." Ed stopped, shaking his head. "Look, do me a favor and _stay here_, okay?"

Both girls blinked in surprise, and Ron gave Ed an especially strange look. "What? _Why_?"

"I-" Ed paused, glancing at the other people around them with a frown. "I can't explain right now. Just stay here. Trust me on this."

Ron gave an indignant snort at the notion, which earned him a small, somewhat annoyed noise from Alphonse followed by a sharp shin kick from his own younger sister. Hermione let out a sigh of her own, tucking a bit of hair behind one ear.

"Honestly, first Harry, now _you_. If someone doesn't explain things properly soon, I'm not going to do anything either of you are asking."

Ed's eyes widened slightly. _Harry_... "What was Harry telling you?"

Hermione hesitated before answering, looking over at Ginny and Ron first. Ginny nodded, while Ron vehemently shook his head. With another sigh, Hermione turned back to Ed and slowly shook her head. "I... can't explain right now."

"Well, if it involves any of you leaving the common room, don't do it," Ed warned, looking at her very seriously. "You're better off staying here, believe me."

The Gryffindors all looked to one another. There was simply no doubting that both Ed and Harry were serious about something bad about to happen.

Al fidgeted. "Nii-san... What's going on?"

Ed turned to his brother, knocking a fist lightly on his arm. "I'm gonna need you to stick with them, Al. Don't let them out of your sight, got it?"

Then suddenly there was a loud sound, like the slamming of an enormous door, echoing from further down the hall. Every head in the common room turned sharply toward it, eyes growing wide in shock. It lasted only a moment, but almost at once the room was filled with nervous chatter. The usual questions of "Did you hear that?", and "What's going on?" could be heard from numerous different mouths.

But Ed was frowning deeply, looking in the direction he'd heard it from as though he could see through the walls, eyes narrowed. Had it _already _begun? Were things really moving this quickly? Then again, he should've known. His luck was almost always horrible. He tried to think quickly; if his guess was right, then it was coming from the very same place he'd just left moments ago. That had to mean that Draco and Nott were already on the move. Which meant that there was no time. There was no time to warn people, let alone try and evacuate the castle... They had to _try_, though. Or else everything really would be lost.

Several other Gryffindors had come up to Ginny and Hermione, and they all started speaking in hushed, urgent tones. In the meantime, Ron was scrabbling to pull out his wand and a blank piece of parchment. The moment it was out, all the Gryffindors that had joined them moved to huddle around him as he murmured some magic words and struck it, and then all of their eyes were moving, quickly sweeping over the page.

"He's not on it," Hermione said after a second, looking to the others. "So then-"

"We've got to get to the Room of Requirement," Ginny finished. "C'mon, Ron, put that away-"

Ed's brow furrowed as he caught their words and he turned to look over at them, raising one eyebrow as he did so. Within the next second, however, his eyes widened in shock. All of them - Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and even more Gryffindors that Ed wasn't familiar with - were preparing to leave the common room, serious, determined looks on each of their faces.

"Hey! What do you guys think you're doing?! Didn't you listen to a word I told you?!"

Ginny looked to Ed with a frown. "Sorry, Ed... But we've got to do this."

"Have you got _any idea_ what you'll be up against?! You don't know what's happening- This isn't something you can just charge into and hope for the best!"

"Harry trusted us to do something while he's gone," the redhead argued, already starting to go. "We have to do something!"

Another loud bang echoed from the hall. The younger Gryffindors in the room all jumped and yelped, and many started to head back up into the dorms while the older ones remained with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. And as soon as they heard that bang, they all surged forward, pushing past Ed and Al and heading out. Ed slapped his forehead. He'd give them points for bravery, but did they all have to be so damn stupid?

Before Ginny could get far, Al reached out to grasp her loosely by the wrist, quickly pulling her back and holding onto her. The redhead blinked up at him in shock.

"Al, what-"

"I don't want you going out there getting hurt."

"But Al, I-"

"It's dangerous right now, like nii-san said... It's better if you stay put right where you are, where you're safe!"

Ginny frowned. "But I have to-"

"If- You might get killed, and then-" Al hesitated, as though he were choking back on his own words. "-and then I would never be able to forgive myself!"

The frown on Ginny's face deepened as she wrenched her arm out of his grasp. "Al! My friends are out there and I don't fancy them getting hurt or killed either! I've been through so much during the past few years and I've been in dangerous situations before! I've been manipulated and possessed by a memory in a diary, I fought numerous Death Eaters in the Department of the Mysteries, and I've risked life and limb over and over again! If you think for one moment that I'm staying put where I'm safe, you've got another thing coming!"

Al couldn't even get another word in before she was following the others out. Ed stared after them for a moment with a deep frown, then ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it up and growling a little in annoyance. Idiots, all of them. Seemed like Hermione was the only one who had a lick of sense, and even she was running out there with the rest of them. Even though she'd faced these people before, even though she surely was the most terrified of coming face to face with a Death Eater once again. And then there was Draco, also out there somewhere, playing for the other team against his will. But he didn't have to, he was better than that, and if only someone could let him _know_ that and put a stop to it-

Ed cursed under his breath. He'd missed his best chance. Now he had to catch her.

He gave Al's arm another light rap of his knuckles, getting his attention before starting to run out of the room himself. "C'mon, we're gonna have to go with 'em, Al. You make sure they don't get themselves killed out there."

"But nii-san!" He hesitated only a moment before following after his older brother. "What about - I thought you wanted to watch Miss Hermi-"

"I do, but I have to find Malfoy, too. Now _go_!"

Al nodded firmly, then started to break into a faster sprint, catching up with Ed before pushing past him. "Be careful, nii-san!"

"What're you talking about? I'm _always _careful!"

Ed flashed a smirk before bee-lining for Hermione, reaching into his robes. These weren't the best circumstances to deliver this letter under, and who knew if it was too little too late. It was a one-shot gamble... but he had to take it. What other choice did he really have?

"Hermione! Hold on a second!"

The bushy-haired girl slowed to a jog and turned at the call of her name, brow furrowing slightly in confusion. "Edward?"

"There's something- you need to see."

"Edward," Hermione started to say, somewhat desperately, "I'm sorry, but there's really no time-"

He pulled the rumpled piece of parchment from his inner pocket as he reached her and quickly shoved it into one of her outer robe pockets. The girl's eyes went wide and she jumped a little in surprise, clearly having not expected that at all as she stared at him.

"Wha- Edward, what's-"

"Just- read it, all right?" he said quickly, cutting her off. "_As soon as you can_."

"Edward, I don't have the time-"

He quickly shook his head. "It's important, Hermione. _Please_."

Before she could say another word, Ed took off in a run, heading toward the seeming source of the explosions. He didn't want her to argue, and he couldn't explain it fully in less than ten seconds. He just needed her to understand. Then maybe, _just maybe..._

Now to find Draco Malfoy... and hope that it still wasn't too late.

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**Author's Note: **i hate to leave it on this note, guys, but... it had to be done. epic stuff is about to happen, in case you hadn't noticed, and it deserves its own set of chapters. TOOK LONG ENOUGH, HUH?? anyways, shoot me a review and let me know how you're likin' it!!


	39. The Battle for Hogwarts

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
_by hikaranko_**

**Summary:** Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish and hope and pray that one day I will wake up and have all the rights to have the Fullmetal Alchemist series, it has not yet happened. So FMA, my most favorite and the absolutely most brilliant manga series EVAR, belongs to Hiromu Arakawa (and Studio BONES). All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling... and this story belongs to me and MJade-1! ^_^

**Author's Note:** HAH!! as promised, I AM PUTTING IT UP MUCH MORE QUICKLY THIS TIME. it's been exciting, finally getting to write out these parts... I'll try to be even faster with the next one!

thanks as usual to everybody who reviews. YOU ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOOOOOOOOOU~~~

* * *

**Chapter 39  
The Battle for Hogwarts**

Edward ran. He probably ran faster than he'd ever run before. He had to make it. He had to get there on time... That barren stretch of hallway, where Draco was somehow able to conceal himself inside the wall... Whatever he'd been trying to do in there all year long, he'd finally been able to do it. And there Ed had been hoping that he'd managed to cut Draco off at the pass. It was infuriating to think about. He'd had all year to find out what he was up to and stop him before the project could come into fruition, but nothing came of it. The seemingly infinite capabilities of magic had rendered usual methods of investigation useless. And even as smart as Edward was, there was little he could do.

Well, it was too late to hope to _reverse _it now. He would just have to make sure that the second part of Draco's assignment didn't work out for him. Soon enough, things were going to get ugly. The whole castle was going to be turned into a battlefield, Ed was sure of it. Which dictated that it was also going to be necessary to ensure that no innocents were caught in the crossfire and killed. He didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if lives were lost unnecessarily.

He turned the final corner sharply, grabbing at the stone wall to help him as he did so. Down at the other end of the hallway he could see some of the Gryffindors; Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Al a small ways away from them, checking around the other corner. Ed raced up to them, brow furrowing. What were they doing here? This was the place with the magic wall that Draco kept disappearing into...

When they saw him approach, the other Gryffindors seemed just as confused, perhaps even a little wary. Ed's frown deepened, and just as he opened his mouth to call out to them and ask what they were doing there, a bang stopped him dead in his tracks. Everyone looked expectantly toward the wall with a jolt, and suddenly, where there had once been nothing but stone and cement, there was a large door. There was barely time to question its sudden appearance before it burst open.

A flurry of dark robes tumbled from out of a previously hidden room, some of them growling at the others about being in their way and to move quickly. Leading them, it seemed, was one Theodore Nott. Beside him, his arm gripped tightly by the other teen, was Draco with some sort of shriveled monkey paw in one hand. The moment the group realized they'd been spotted, Nott froze, eyes wide, then shoved a hand into the inner pocket of his robes, pulled something out, and threw it over their heads.

Everyone let out a cry as they were quite suddenly and quickly engulfed in darkness, blinded completely by it. There was the very distinct sound of some of the other kids bumping into one another, particularly Al and his armor as he staggered about.

"What in Merlin's-"

"What's going on?!"

"It's- It's Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder!"

"Ow! Al, careful where you're stepping!"

"S-Sorry, Ginny!"

"Those were Death Eaters!"

"Instant _what_?!"

"It's- Oi! Bloody hell..!"

"Ack! Sorry, Mr. Ron!"

Underneath their voices were a set of significantly older, gruffer sounding ones, bossing each other around and clearly shoving each other aside, occasionally barking out an order about where their feet should be. Ed tried to turn toward them, certain that _those _were the ones he needed to follow. And just as he took a step toward it-

CLANG.

"Hey! Dammit, Al-"

"I-I'm so sorry, nii-san!!"

"_Elric_?"

The voice was shocked, a little hoarse from the apparent strain of speaking out loud. Ed turned toward it, his eyes darting around, trying to seek out the source through the abysmal black.

"El- The _bloody 'ell_ is Elric doin-"

That second voice had to belong to Nott. Ed growled a little, his hands balling into fists. If it weren't for this impenetrable darkness...

"_Focus_, you imbeciles!" someone else shouted out gruffly. "Lead us out, boy! Get to the others! I've got a mission to do myself!"

Ed tried to follow the noise, the voices and the sound of many shuffling feet. But there were a good many of them: frantic Gryffindors here, annoyed Death Eaters there... It was damn difficult to distinguish, and the moment Ed thought he found his target and started to move toward it, he collided with someone who quickly began to apologize over and over. Not a Death Eater. Certainly not Draco.

He cursed softly under his breath as he stepped away from whoever that was, whirling around in place as he sought out the voices again. Draco, Nott, _anybody_ who sounded over twenty... But to no avail. Save for the constant beat of their feet on the ground, they had all gone silent. Only the voices of the Gryffindors as they searched for each other could be heard.

"Damn...!"

"Thought you'd beat me, eh, Elric?"

He froze. Nott. When did he come back? Where exactly was he?

"Thought you'd swoop in out of nowhere, take me and Malfoy out, claim all the glory for yourself?"

The voice was moving slowly, seeming to surround him from all sides. It rang out over the voices of the other kids, despite being spoken in low tones. Ed frowned as he listened, turning a little in place as he strained his ears to catch his every word, every step, every rustle of his robes.

"Well, you're too late now. The Dark Lord only wants the strong ones who prove useful. And clearly, you're the one out of the loop here."

Ed took a small step to one side, turning his head slowly. He'd find him, it was just a matter of time. He knew guys like Nott; they liked to rub things in and talk and gloat about themselves.

"Poor Elric. So bloody smart and strong and fierce and all those things that would be so well put to use by the Dark Lord... All your efforts gone to waste, eh? Everything you wanted for yourself down the drain. You'd never make a good enough servant for the Dark Lord, like it or not. Went through this whole year looking for an in, plotting against us only to come up with _nothing_ in the end. Thought you had the upper hand, did you? When it was _me _all along, I knew exactly what you were up to, you bloody wanker! And now - now _I _get to reap in all the reward for _me_."

He stopped, and then his voice was suddenly right up beside him, so close Ed could smell the bastard's rank breath. "They're going to die, d'you understand? _I'm _going to off them, since Malfoy's too much of a bleeding heart airy-fairy to do it himself. Made a right balls-up of his precious little assignment, he did." Nott snickered to one side. "So... First the old headmaster, then golden bloody _Potter_, then _all the rest of them_. Including your pathetic little Mudblood girlfriend. They're worthless after all, eh?"

Nott stopped to cackle evilly. Ed's hands balled into fists at his sides, the rage welling up within him. Dirty son of a bitch.

"And then it would be me the Dark Lord would prize. _Me_! His right-hand man, his successor. Not Malfoy, not his bloody family." Nott practically spat the name as he said it. "I'd finally beat Draco at something. Something that would place me above him, above others. I would no longer be a disgrace to my father, no longer be humiliated by my peers, no longer be looked down upon by the followers of the Dark Lord. Other Death Eaters would fear and respect me for I'll be _his _new apprentice." His voice suddenly went lower, his tone bitter and hateful. "They'll finally know their place, the lot of them. After everything I've done in service to the Dark Lord, all my failures will be forgotten and the legacy of my family will be ever more powerful. I know he will surely reward me 'fore the night's up. And there's absolutely _nothing _you can do about it!"

Then a hand was on his shoulder, patting him in a clearly condescending manner as the bastard laughed. _Laughed_.

"Poor li'l cock up Elric," he said with another cackle. "Maybe if you're lucky I'll see you around!"

A vein in Ed's head was throbbing in rage. This dirty son of a bitch. Nott started cackling loudly as he started to move back, but before he could get too far away, Ed's arm darted out and grabbed onto him in a fierce, automail grip. He wasn't getting away with this. Oh, _hell _no.

Nott was clearly shocked. "What the bloody-"

"Get in with a sick, twisted cult like the _Death Eaters_?" Ed repeated incredulously. "Swoop in and become Voldemort's new best friend?! Don't make me laugh."

His grip on Nott's arm tightened, metal fingers clenching into the idiot's weak flesh and bone. He tried to wrench himself away, but Ed's grasp was too strong for him. With a growl, Ed yanked him closer. If Nott could see him, there was a wicked smirk plastered across his face, his gold eyes burning angrily.

"Sixteen times."

There was a short, stunned pause. "_What_?"

"You and your Slytherin buddies have insulted me _sixteen times_ since I got here. Not including any insults to my character. If I include those, you personally just dished out five. Guess what that means for _you_, Nott?" There was another bit of silence, and Ed could feel Nott trying to pull himself free again. Ed's smirk grew, his voice lowering dangerously. "It means, you weedy little shithead, that you get to take the brunt of _aaaalllll _my anger. Exciting, huh? I know _I'm _looking forward to it."

The arm he was holding onto seemed to be shaking. Ed almost wanted to laugh. "You chose the _wrong _time to pick a fight with me, Nott."

He swiftly switched hands, grabbing hold of his victim by the collar in his left hand and rearing his right back. Then, with that same wicked glimmer in his eyes, Ed threw the hardest punch he could manage that wouldn't kill the weak little sap. Though the temptation to kill him certainly was there.

Nott's whimper was drowned out by the crunch of breaking cartilage in his nose, and the next noise of protest was muffled by another crack made when his fist connected with his jaw. Still holding him tight by his robes, he simultaneously yanked him closer and raised his knee, hitting him right in the gut. He could feel his weight shift ever so slightly, so before the asshole could pass out Ed dropped his elbow into what he was assuming was the small of his back. Only _then _did he let him go. The thud that his body made when it crumpled to the floor was damn near music to Ed's ears. It was over a bit too quickly for his liking, but Ed felt one hell of a whole lot better now.

He rolled his shoulder briefly and kicked at Nott's body one last time for good measure before returning his attention to the current situation. It seemed the Gryffindors were still grappling blindly through the darkness, shouting about the powder and trying to figure out how to reverse its effects. Ed frowned a little in thought as he listened to them, then quickly slapped his hands together and hit the ground. If it was really just magical powder, it was easy enough to remove and destroy. If not, well... at least he'd know for sure.

With a flash of light from Ed's hands, the powder gathered and condensed together into a small black box on the floor in front of him, and the gift of sight was once again bestowed upon the Gryffindors. Some of them yelped at the sudden change, holding up their hands and blinking rapidly as they had to adjust to it.

"What..?"

"How did...?"

Ed picked up the little box and examined it briefly before tossing it to Al, who caught it easily. The younger Elric just looked at it for a moment before turning to Ed again. "Nii-san?"

"Keep that on you," Ed instructed, pointing to the box. "Could come in useful later."

"Ah- Sure..."

Neville was the first to notice the unconscious Slytherin a few feet away from where Edward was standing and cried out in alarm. "Is that- That's Theodore Nott!"

He turned a little to look, blinking. Then turned back to Neville with one eyebrow slightly quirked. "Yeah, it is."

"His... His nose is broken."

A little smirk crossed Ed's face. He very nearly puffed out his chest in pride. "Yeah, it is. So's his jaw."

While Neville blinked at the sight in shock, Ed turned his attention back to the others. "I'm gonna need you guys to do me a favor. Round people up, get the younger students out of the castle or to someplace safe and secure. Anybody else is probably gonna have to fight."

Ginny and Ron looked surprised, but they nodded in understanding. "Okay."

"What?!" Al was clearly shocked. "What about making sure nobody gets-"

"These guys are bullheaded, in case you hadn't noticed." The three Gryffindors frowned a little when they heard this, but said nothing. It was true, after all. "If they can fight, if they _want _to fight, there are too few of us to stop them so we're better off using that to our advantage. I didn't catch how many Death Eaters were let in, but I think it's safe to say they outnumber all of us at the moment. That banging noise happened earlier too, so they might be hitting us in waves. At any rate, Al, you stick with these guys like I told you earlier, got that?"

Al seemed stunned, but he still nodded slowly. He knew his brother well enough to recognize when he was being truly serious about something. "All right..."

"Good. Now _hurry_!"

And with that, Ed took off in the direction of the headmaster's office without sparing a glance back. That was sure to be Draco's destination; after all, he _was _trying to kill the wizened old wizard. He wasn't sure what the point of having all the Death Eaters storm the castle was, but it wasn't unthinkable of Voldemort to simply want them to wreak havoc on the castle. And if he thought of how many Dumbledore supporters were housed within these walls, well... It made sense for the bastard to want to destroy every potential obstacle as quickly as possible.

He hadn't gone very far before he found himself running headlong into a battlefield. One of the hallways en route to Dumbledore's office was filled with Death Eaters facing off against some other wizards. Spells were being shot out from every part of the hallway, hitting the walls, smashing statues and decorative armors when they missed their targets. Whatever paintings were up on the walls were now completely void of subject matter, as they had all fled as soon as the fighting broke out.

He didn't recognize every face that he could see fighting. Some were definitely teachers: McGonagall and the Charms professor, for instance. But there were others he'd never seen before: a man with graying light brown hair and patched, shabby clothing and quite a few redheads, among others. There was only one face that was vaguely familiar, that being of a young woman with a heart-shaped face and mousy brown hair. Either way, it was quite clear whose side they were on.

It was also quite clear that they were on the losing side.

They were taking on Death Eaters two or three to one, the odds heavily against them. The desperate struggle was evident in every way, and for a moment Ed was frozen where he stood. _Help them_. They needed all the help they could get, and yet for every second that he hesitated, Draco was getting further away, heading off to kill the headmaster. After another brief moment passed, Ed gritted his teeth and pressed onward, running past them all. There simply wasn't enough time to stop and help each and every one of them.

He bee-lined straight through the battlefield, ducking under people's arms, weaving around groups to avoid them, jumping over fallen objects. He was nearly around the far corner when somebody was struck and suddenly got sent colliding right into him, almost making them both topple over to the ground. He let out a yelp of surprise, blinking in confusion as his eyes met briefly with the wizard's. A second later, however, they were both hitting the floor to get out of the way of a spell aimed right for their heads.

"Bloody-" The Death Eater cursed loudly at the miss, then quickly readjusted to shoot another. Both Ed and the other wizard leapt out of the way, Ed nearly crashing into another group of fighters as he did so. More cries of surprise arose from them, some of them whirling around to see what had happened. As more attention was drawn to him, more spells started to get thrown at him, some even coming from those who weren't Death Eaters. Some part of him reasoned that it was because Draco and Nott had been in ordinary Slytherin robes that he was being mistaken for an enemy, but the trigger had already been pulled. Ed growled out an annoyed curse of his own, glaring angrily at them all as he slapped his hands together with a thunderous noise.

"Bastards...! _STOP GETTING IN MY WAY_!!!"

His hands hit the floor and that segment of the hallway was suddenly lit up with the crackling lightning of the transmutation. Segments of stone beneath the carpet suddenly surged upward, launching concrete-fisted punches at all the Death Eaters who were nearby and sending them careening into the walls and the ceilings, knocking them out in a single blow. The wizards that he helped were all clearly disoriented by what had happened, only realizing who was responsible when there was another clap and the sculptures withdrew into the floor again. A few of them spared a moment amidst their fighting to exchange confused looks before returning to their fight.

"Mr. Elric!"

Ed was just about to continue his run when he heard the familiar sound of McGonagall's voice and quickly turned toward her, a frown across his face. "Professor, did you see Draco Malfoy pass through here?"

"No, I can't say I have," she answered quickly, "but just where do you think you're-"

He growled softly and grumbled to himself, getting more and more annoyed by the circumstances he was finding himself in. He didn't even bother to hear the rest of McGonagall's question and just turned sharply on his heel, resuming his journey up to the headmaster's office. He all but bellowed the password at the gargoyle and was darting up the hidden staircase before it had even been fully revealed. In no time at all he was bursting through the doors to the round office, only to find that it was empty save for a swan-sized bird of red and gold.

"Professor?!" he called out, despite knowing that if he were there, he would have already greeted him. "Professor Dumbledore!!"

The bird turned its head toward him, tilting it slightly as though it found Ed's presence most curious. But no wizened old wizard emerged from behind the desk. Ed even moved around to the other side of it to investigate, cursing under his breath. In another moment he was gone, running back out the door and down the steps to jump back into the battlefield he'd just left.

* * *

All of Hogwarts had exploded into action. Edward's earlier assumption about the number of Death Eaters that had managed to enter outnumbered them greatly was correct, making it seem as though they were fighting a losing battle. And now that he was left without any ideas on where Draco could have headed off to in order to accomplish his task, Ed felt it was only right that he help take care of the black-robed bastards in the meantime. So he did, following the path of activity: after all, once he helped take down one group of Death Eaters, another one would spring up to replace it as he moved further down the hallway, getting more concentrated in number as they went.

Edward leapt out of the way of what must've been a pretty nasty spell, then charged straight for the Death Eater who cast it, launching into a flying kick aimed for his face. He pulled all of his weight with him, the sole of his boot driving deep into the Death Eater's mask and making its surface crack and break apart. He was essentially used as a stepping block as Ed immediately moved on to attack the next closest Death Eater, snarling viciously as he charged into him with an automail-fisted punch to the face. His opponents were unaccustomed to this actual head-on physical attack, and so had little time to process the situation before falling victim to his punches and kicks.

He was wrath incarnate, a blur of movement in iron kicks and punches to every vital point he could reach. His attack was relentless, fueled by a powerful, hate-filled rage that had spent the better part of the last nine months coiled up within him that was being unleashed on the unsuspecting Death Eaters. It was loosed in a combination of physical combat, alchemy, and magic, a triple attack that none of them could possibly have expected or been prepared for, much less coming from someone like him. Sometimes his being of the stature that he was came in handy like that. Not that Ed would ever acknowledge this fact, let alone admit to it.

Further down the hall, Alphonse swung a heavy punch of his own into a black-robed figure near him, then let the body slide down to the floor at his feet. He turned toward where he could hear the sound of his brother's yells and growls, incessant streams of enraged cursing like only Edward Elric could pull off. It had been a while since he and the other Gryffindors joined the fight, jumping in to battle alongside who Ron was calling members of the Order of the Phoenix. There was no time to explain it further, so Al had to satisfy himself with this answer for the time being. For now, they were to be classified as "the good guys" and would invariably be given his assistance.

"Nii-san!" he called out, waving an arm so Ed would be sure to see him. "NII-SAN!"

"AL, HEADS UP!"

Ron's call made him turn sharply to one side, noticing the Death Eater that had turned toward him, wand drawn and ready. Not wanting to risk taking such a direct hit from a magic spell, he staggered back to avoid the hit, letting out a yelp of shock as the carpet where he once stood was suddenly hit with a bright green light. His large armored body bumped into someone else and he all but toppled over with a resounding clang, the Death Eater that had attacked him in the first place looming nearby. Somewhere over the clamor Ginny could be heard crying out for him, but before she could reach him or even get close enough to use any spells, she was too late.

Ed literally beat her to the punch. He'd already been charging down the hallway at full speed, making his way to where Al and the other Gryffindors were, so it didn't take him long to hit Al's attacker, vaulting himself clear over Al's metal body and kicking the bastard right in the face. The single hit was enough to take him down, Ed landing into a slight crouch just in front of his younger brother. He then turned to look at him, his eyes giving him a quick visual check up before moving back to the other Gryffindors.

"Everyone okay?"

They nodded. "Fine, thanks."

"You scared the bloody hell outta me," complained Seamus, giving Ed a wary look.

He waved it off, reaching back to give Al a hand up before starting to move on. "At least you've got your guard up."

Before Ed could get too far, Al caught him by the wrist and held him back. "Nii-san, I have to tell you something! It- It's about Miss Hermione!"

He stopped at once, blinking and whirling around to face him. "What about her?"

"I- I can't find her."

Gold eyes widened in shock. "_What_?!"

"Somewhere in the middle of all this, I think- I lost track of her, I can't find her-"

"AL!" Ed grabbed Al by the shoulders and shook him a little. "I told you to stay-"

"I _did_! But I think she slipped away even before everything-"

Apparently having been unable to help but overhear, Ron stepped up to them, a confused sort of look on his face. "Hermione's down in the dungeons with Luna."

Both brothers turned to look at him when he spoke, Ed's eyes a little wider. It seemed for a moment as though what the redhead had told them simply wasn't registering, but then suddenly Ed pounced on him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him as he had done Al.

"What the hell is she doing down there?!"

Ron quickly broke free of Ed's grasp, staring at him in surprise. "She- Harry said Snape needed to be watched, so when we headed out we split up-"

"_Dammit_!" Ed shoved a hand through his hair, ruffling his bangs in irritation. "Of all the times, of all the places, it just _had _to be-"

"Merlin's beard- THE DARK MARK!!"

The exclamation was met by a series of gasps and the turning of many heads, as well as a few cries of victory from some of the Death Eaters. Ed and Al both looked around them wildly, searching for whatever it was that had been pointed out. When neither of them saw anything out of the ordinary (apart from a school hallway being turned into a magical battlefield against Death Eaters), their eyes once again fell on Ron. The boy seemed to have gone pale, his eyes wide in terror.

"Bloody hell... The Dark Mark..."

"What're you talking about? _What _mark? Where?"

Ron fixed the brothers with a stunned look. "How don't you know-"

"Just tell us what it is!" Ed demanded impatiently.

"It- It's _his_ mark," the Gryffindor answered with a slight shake of his head. "If the Death Eaters send it up into the sky, it's to show that they've been there, that they've-" He swallowed nervously. "That they've killed someone..."

Ed's eyes grew wide and the pit of his stomach dropped through the floor. Someone had been killed. Which meant...

_Shit_.

He broke away from Ron and Al at once, ignoring their shocked cries as he ran for the windows where a dark-haired witch was staring out the window in horror. He followed the direction of her gaze up into the night sky. There, high above the roof of the Astronomy Tower, was an image of a narrow-eyed skull with a snake emerging from its open mouth, the length of its body weaving around it. It just floated there, the picture seemingly made up of a mysterious green smoke that stood out just so against the line of darkened, silver-lined clouds.

"_Merlin_," gasped the witch, her voice trembling a bit in horror.

Ed turned toward her at once. "How long has that been up there?!"

She shook her head. "I- I don't know-"

"You WHAT?!"

"I- I don't know, but- Good Lord, who could they have...?"

Letting out a low, frustrated growl, Ed took off again in a run, heading for the Astronomy tower. It was almost hard to believe that Draco could have killed off the professor so quickly and easily. In fact, he _didn't _believe it. It could have just been a bluff or something...

He was so caught up in his thoughts and busy looking out the windows at the Dark Mark that he wasn't looking where he was going. Soon enough he ran headlong into one of the Death Eaters, knocking the dark-robed figure over and tumbling down with him. They both cursed as they struggled to regain their bearings, shaking their heads a little to free themselves of the dizziness. The moment they noticed one another, they both whipped out their wands and pointed it at one another.

"_Expelli-_"

"_Avada-_"

There was a loud click like a finger snap, and suddenly the Death Eater's robes were wrapped up in a curtain of flames. Ed could only stare in shock as the man screamed in terror and pain, throwing up his wand and flailing madly to exterminate the fire. He looked around wildly, his eyes a little wider. There was only one person he could think of who could do something that quickly.

"It seems I just can't leave you on your own, Fullmetal. You honestly didn't think this was a situation worth notifying me about?"

That obnoxiously familiar, nonchalant drawl made Ed twitch a little. With an annoyed grimace, he turned to face Colonel Mustang fully as he approached, dressed in full Amestrian military uniform, one gloved hand in his pocket and his hair as neatly trimmed as it had ever been. At least the bastard didn't have that smug look on his face.

Behind his blue-uniformed figure Ed could see other familiar members of the Amestrian military joining the fray: First Lieutenant Hawkeye and Second Lieutenants Havoc and Breda were all running around taking unsuspecting Death Eaters down with nonfatal shots to their shoulders and legs; elsewhere was the unmistakable glow of alchemy as Major Armstrong heaved spikes of stone up to barricade the enemy in. Somewhere in the midst of the fighting, Ed could've sworn he caught the glint of a small steel knife flying through the air to stab a Death Eater in the back: signature work of Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. It looked like Roy had called on a few favors from Central for this cavalry.

"What the hell're you all doing here?!" Ed cried out in alarm, shoving the still-burning Death Eater to one side with a simple spell.

"I came to check up on you," Roy said almost casually, snapping his fingers again and making another Death Eater's robes burst into flames. "You really need to learn to follow orders more closely. Just look at the mess you've caused."

"_I've_ caused?! You have no idea what's been going on here, so don't go throwing accusations at me! Besides, how'd you even _get _here, the place is completely warded with ma-"

"FULLMETAL, GET DOWN!"

Before Ed could finish his question, Roy pushed him down to the floor. Ed let out a yelp, his hands coming up to cover his head automatically. A flash of green light soared just over their heads, narrowly missing them both. He then turned to see who'd cast that spell, eyes narrowed and teeth bared like a feral dog.

"Dirty son of a..." He took aim at the idiot's face with his wand, then blasted a nonverbal Banishing Charm right at him. "..BITCH!!"

The Death Eater went careening back, flying into one of his companions and knocking them all over. Ed glowered in their general direction, straightening to his full height. Roy shook his head a little, vaguely amused in spite of their circumstances.

"You'd better get moving, Fullmetal. I don't see your charge anywhere."

Ed turned again to look back at him, frowning. "But you haven't answered my-"

"There's no time for that right now," Roy said sternly, cutting him off once more. "You have a mission to execute. Or did you forget about it already?"

His gold eyes widened slightly, then narrowed again. Damn. He hated admitting when the colonel was right about these things. There really wasn't any time to waste.

"Asshole," he snorted, resuming his run to the Astronomy tower. "You'd better fess up when all this is over!"

As his subordinate ran off, Roy waved a hand dismissively. Naturally, he'd explain everything later on. For the time being, he was in the middle of a very interesting battlefield.

Ed weaved his way down the increasingly crowded hallway. On all sides, people were fighting. Wizards of every age, students and teachers alike, all pitted against the hordes of Death Eaters. It still seemed like they were losing, but Ed was somewhat comforted with the knowledge that the colonel had arrived with some reinforcements; exactly how many were brought, he hadn't noticed. But even if it wasn't much, Ed liked to think that it had helped tip the scale in their favor.

How on earth were there so many Death Eaters here? He couldn't understand it. Though it did seem possible that all the non-lethal hits that were being dished out to them wasn't deterring them. Injuries from "Muggle" weaponry were probably easy enough to heal, so any damages done by Roy's unit only bought time and killed ammunition. The other wizards' _Expelliarmus_ spells were only effective for as long as they couldn't get their hands on another wand. But the Death Eaters didn't think twice about using the Killing Curse, and that was ultimately going to be the "good" side's downfall.

One thing at a time. Ed had to tackle this one thing at a time, and first up was Draco's assassination of the school's headmaster.

He made it to the entrance of the Astronomy tower quickly enough. He had to jump over a body that had crumpled to the floor and was now lying in the way (he didn't know whose side that one belonged to, or if it was dead or simply unconscious), but once he'd made it through he was taking the stairs two at a time, practically flying up the staircase.

The Dark Mark had to be a bluff. He kept telling himself this; Draco couldn't possibly have killed the headmaster so quickly and easily. It wasn't possible. For all his talk, Draco wasn't a killer.

Finally, he made it to the top of the tower and he burst out onto the roof, searching around him quickly. But the moment he glimpsed a pair of figures out of the corner of his eye, he was struck.

"_Incarcerous_!!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** DUN DUN DUHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNN. ..._Damn_ I love cliffhangers.

I- I had the hardest time writing out this chapter. Writing this was the reason the last chapter took so long to get uploaded. I'm just SO GLAD IT'S FINALLY DONE. I hope you guys appreciate it!! As always, please review on your way out!


	40. The LightningStruck Tower

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary:** Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish and hope and pray that one day I will wake up and have all the rights to have the Fullmetal Alchemist series, it has not yet happened. So FMA, my most favorite and the absolutely most brilliant manga series EVAR, belongs to Hiromu Arakawa (and Studio BONES). All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling... and this story belongs to me and MJade-1! ^_^

**Author's Note:** nfufufu… just under two months. I MADE IT, WOOO!! I got distracted by the new FMA anime coming out. WHO DIDN'T SEE IT?? GO SEE IT NOW. IT'S AWESOME. AND EPIC. GO WATCH IT AND LOVE IT, _RIGHT NOW_.

.... Anyways! Once again, thanks to all you lovely, lovely reviewing people. I wanted to reply to as many as I could individually, but… alas. I suck. I'll address a few here, but to those I haven't gone and replied to somehow… just know that I love you too, and yes, I'll try to update soon. :3

**Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth** – HAH, I _totally _thought about it, but… maybe not just yet. Later, perhaps. We shall see~~

**LachwenII** – hmmm… I never thought about that before. O.O I'm gonna keep this in mind. Thanks!

**EvilFaerie17** – LOL OMG DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST QUOTE THAT OLD SONG? HOLY CRAP. XDDD Roy is _so _not Ed's boyfriend in my world, ewwwww~

Welp, now that _that's_ out of the way… on with the story~

* * *

**Chapter 40  
The Lightning-Struck Tower**

Draco Malfoy hates Hermione Granger.

_"I told you, she no longer matters to me. And I'm going to try every single day to forget that Hermione Granger ever existed."_

_"Good luck with that. You can try, but I really don't think you'll get far."_

_"What is that supposed to mean?"_

_"Just that you've changed."_

_"Elric, you have no idea what you're talking about. You've known me for what? One bloody semester! Who the hell do you think you are to tell me such total bollocks?"_

_"I'm not the one who said it. ...Hermione did."_

_"...She-"_

_"She said something about how there was something different about you this year. Something... easily overlooked, but that she still managed to see in you. She's pretty amazing, y'know? Always able to find the silver lining that no one else can see..."_

That's right. I hate her. I _hate _her.

_"If I fail this assignment, she'd be as good as dead anyway. If I succeed, I'll be wishing I was dead!"_

_"Death won't help! It'll just make things worse. If you die then you've given up. You've failed, and if you fail then your mom gets killed. The only reason she's being kept alive is to get used as leverage on you. Do you really think they'd just let her live when they have no more use for her? Your lives are expendable to him! At least while you're alive, you have the ability and the chance, the option, to do something to change things. Letting yourself die would mean throwing away that chance. And there's no one in this world that'll forgive you if you do that."_

_"No, Elric... Letting myself die means letting someone else have the chance to live. And right now, that's all that really matters to me."_

I hate her... I...

_"What the bloody hell is wrong with her?! Why the fuck isn't she saying anything?! I could've killed her! Was going to, as a matter of fact!"_

_"You wouldn't have killed her."_

_"Were you not there? Did you not see what-"_

_"I was there. That's exactly my point. And I have to say, all things considered, I was pretty impressed."_

_"If it wasn't for you, she would have been dead."_

_"You lowered your wand. - Whether I was there or not, you still wouldn't have killed her."_

_"What is she playing at?"_

_"Y'know, I've been wondering that myself. Why not throw the bastard that nearly killed her into the big house to rot. I sure as hell would've done it, without a second thought. - But y'know what? Hermione's different. She's giving you yet another chance to be an actual human being and not some... some arrogant self serving spoiled rich brat that you make yourself out to be all the time. Consider yourself lucky that it was her and not somebody else!"_

_"She hates me, every single part of me! I'm a fucking heartless monster to her, a bloody Death Eater, just exactly everything that she and Potter and Weasel had always believed me to be! She's not giving me a second chance, she's leaving me to wallow in my own guilt and-"_

_"Been there, done that, wrote the fucking book for it. -" _

_"You didn't understand then, you don't understand now. I don't fucking expect you to."_

_"Look, whatever the hell she said, she said it because she was scared. - She didn't mean it, not really, and I'd say the fact that she hasn't already gone and turned you in is proof."_

I love you, Hermione Granger.

Goodbye forever...

* * *

Snape came hurtling out of his office, looking almost wildly up and down the corridor and giving Hermione and Luna quite a start in the process. Both girls yelped and jumped as they turned to him, blinking up at him in confusion. For a second he seemed equally confused by their presence, but within moments that was gone. He frowned at them, then inclined his head slightly toward his office.

"Professor Flitwick has collapsed," he told them. Hermione gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Attend to him at once. I'll be up to fight the Death Eaters, so be quick."

With that, he hurried up out of the dungeon. Hermione and Luna looked to one another before entering his office, finding Professor Flitwick indeed unconscious on the floor inside. They descended on him quickly, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him first.

"Professor! _Professor_!"

"Oh, _please_ wake up, sir..."

No response. The small man seemed to be completely knocked out. Hermione frowned worriedly. Luna tilted her head slightly to one side, sighing.

"This really isn't a very good time to fall asleep," she mused aloud.

Hermione sighed a little and shook her head, reaching into her robes to get her wand. "Whatever the case, Luna, we've _got _to hurry. They're going to need all of our help upstairs! We'll have to try a spell, I know there's-"

A crumpled piece of parchment slipped out of Hermione's robe pocket. It had been tucked away in the same place as her wand, though she didn't remember putting anything in there herself. For a brief moment she thought it was the Marauder's Map, but then she remembered that Ron had taken hold of it, so it couldn't be that. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she reached to pick it up.

_"Read it, all right? It's important, Hermione. _Please_."_

Luna blinked at her in confusion, watching her take the parchment into her hands and unfold it carefully, as though she thought it would break. Her head was still slightly tilted, and after a moment of this silence, she shifted to try to get a look at what Hermione was reading so intently.

"Hermione?" she said at length. "Is that for the spell?"

The sound of her voice seemed to slowly pull Hermione's attention back to the present, her head finally rising slightly, but she didn't turn to look at Luna. She seemed frozen in place, that same worried frown on her face, and for a moment Luna thought that she too had been hit by some sort of spell. One never knew what the smell of Snape's office could do to someone, after all.

"Hermione?" she repeated.

She reached out to try to nudge Hermione out of her stupor, but before her hand could touch her shoulder the Gryffindor was on her feet. In another second she was gone, dashing back out the door and disappearing down the hallway.

Even more confused than before, still kneeling on the floor beside Professor Flitwick's unconscious form, Luna blinked owlishly. She then looked at the professor with a heavy sigh.

"Oh dear."

* * *

Edward couldn't move. He was suddenly bound by thick, magical ropes that were wrapped tightly around his entire body. He squirmed against it a little with a soft frustrated growl, but to no avail. At least his head and face could still move. Of course, it wasn't as though that was particularly helpful, but something was something. And as he took that moment to look around once again, his eyes widened as he took in the scene unfolding before him.

Dumbledore was leaning against the far wall, weakened and frail and looking older than ever. He was certainly alive, but barely so, it seemed. His face was deathly pale, yet his eyes, though drooping with exhaustion and void of all their merry twinkle, were locked on the blonde before him. Draco stood in front of him, a wand in each hand, one pointed between the headmaster's eyes and the other pointed right at Ed's chest. He was shaking.

"I wouldn't struggle too much, Elric," Draco muttered softly. He seemed to be giving Ed a pained, frustrated look, at which Ed merely frowned.

He met the Slytherin's gaze evenly, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he didn't speak to him. "I'm sorry, Professor. I should've warned you."

Slowly, as though the small movement pained him, Dumbledore shook his head. "No need for that, Edward..."

Draco's eyes darted between the two of them for a moment, his brow furrowing. "You're- You're in league with him?"

Ed hesitated to answer. "In a... manner of speaking, yeah."

"No... It can't be..." He looked shocked for a moment, shaking his head slowly. But then his expression hardened, a deep frown appearing on his face. He scoffed. "I must've been blind, it all makes sense now. You following me around, appearing everywhere I went, trying to be my friend, offering your help... You've been _spying _on me this whole time, haven't you? That's how he knows."

"What the hell're you talking about?"

"He _knows everything_," Draco ground out through clenched teeth, shaking the hand that held Dumbledore at wand point for emphasis. "The poisoned mead, the opal necklace- He knew what was going on because _you fucking told him_."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Like hell I did! What the fuck're you-"

"Just exactly _who are you_?" Both his voice and the wand pointed at Edward started to tremble. "You can't be part of Potter's little army, and you're sure as hell not a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Did you use some bloody potion to disguise yourself or something?!"

Ed's frown was deepening. He hadn't told Dumbledore anything about what he knew of the situation, surmising that it would be too risky, too complicated to let more people in on it. But the old wizard still knew, and Ed looked over at him with a question in his eyes.

"Professor...?"

Dumbledore looked right back at him, and for a moment that old twinkle seemed to appear in his eyes. He nodded deeply, slowly. Ed nodded in return and drew in a deep breath. Draco's eyebrows came together in confusion, watching their interaction with an increasing sense of unease. And then Ed spoke, and all his attention went to him, their gazes locking with one another.

"I haven't lied about my name or my age, but... I'm not a wizard like you or Professor Dumbledore, or anybody else in this school. I'm not from some magic academy in Germany. I didn't even know anything about this school or about magic until right before I came here."

"You _can't _be a Muggle," Draco snorted softly.

Ed shook his head. "No, not exactly. I..."

He paused for a moment, taking another breath. When he continued, his tone was soft and even but firm. He sounded very much like he was simply reading aloud a page from a textbook. For the first time in a very long while, he truly seemed like a full-fledged soldier.

"I'm Major Edward Elric, otherwise known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, working for the military of my home country, Amestris. A request for an undercover agent was sent to our government from one Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was selected because I'm the youngest acting soldier, and would therefore blend seamlessly into the provided environment. I was to report only to either the headmaster directly or to Colonel Roy Mustang, my superior officer. The mission was to watch over one Draco Malfoy, to confirm his connection with one Dark Lord Voldemort, unveil his plans, and then to stop him by any means."

He would've ended it with a strict salute, but with his body bound the way it was, that was impossible. So he merely stopped, holding Draco's shocked stare with his own calm one. An eyebrow quirked slightly upward, the rigid act dropping at once.

"Happy now?"

Draco was quiet for just a moment more, swallowing thickly as his wand hand trembled still more violently. There was a look of horror and betrayal across his features, his eyes wide and his face going ever paler. "But you failed," he said at last. "You _failed_, you couldn't stop me-"

"I was still sure as hell trying!" Ed snapped. "Somehow you were always half a step ahead of me! Like I could've gone and told anybody anything when I was still in the middle of figuring it out! Sure, I more or less knew what you were up to, but I was trying to keep collateral damage to a minimum by involving as few people as possible! I could've contacted Mustang or Dumbledore at any time and had them just swoop in and arrest you, but I didn't, 'cause-"

"WHY?! Why the bloody hell didn't you?! 'Stop him by any means' you said, but you didn't! It would've been so much easier-"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME GET TO THAT PART?!" Ed barked, squirming against his bonds a little more in his irritation. "Dammit, y'know what? Looking back right now, I probably should've! But then somewhere along the way I just had to go and get this idea that maybe, _just maybe_, there was some kind of hope for redemption for you. That maybe you were still _human_ and could just be stopped quietly-"

"'Redemption'?" Draco almost spat the word out. "I thought you were intelligent, not idealistic! That's ridiculous. Where'd a stupid idea like _that _come from?!"

"From a certain girl who probably knows you a little better than you think she does!"

Draco twitched back, frowning. "What are you on about?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "You _know _what I'm 'on about'! She's the only reason I didn't just dismiss you as another arrogant self-serving brat, the reason I didn't just leave you to get mauled along with the Death Eaters. She's the only reason I bother giving two shits about what happens to you! You and your feelings toward her-"

"My 'feelings toward her' are nothing but a stupid infatuation!"

"Infatuation?!" Ed echoed incredulously. "Are you fucking _kidding_ me?! We're talking about the very same girl you've been pining over since fourth-"

"SHUT UP!" he shouted, readjusting his hold on his wand so it couldn't waver, pointed directly at Ed. "SHUT UP RIGHT NOW, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER BLOODY WORD OUT OF YOU!"

But Ed wouldn't. He persisted, eyes narrowing. If _he _didn't say it, then there was a good chance that no one ever would. That was something he couldn't afford. "I'm no expert in the field, but y'know how she's all you ever talk or think about? Mudblood this, Mudblood that-"

"Stop it-"

"That's not just some '_infatuation_', Malfoy! That's-"

"_IMPEDIMENTA_!"

Light burst out from the tip of Draco's wand and hit Edward square in the chest, paralyzing him completely. Only his eyes could move, and he didn't hesitate to fix Draco with a furious glare. The Slytherin _knew _Ed was right, this much was certain. Hearing the words aloud gave the words a kind of power, a power that the Malfoy heir wasn't willing to face. Ed fumed.

_'Idiot,' _his eyes seemed to be saying. _'You're a fucking idiot.'_

Draco returned the glare just as fiercely, then quickly rounded on Dumbledore again, his hand becoming steadier as he jabbed the wand in the old wizard's direction. "And _you_, don't you speak another bloody word about 'my options' or some other bollocks like that! The mead didn't work, nor did the necklace... I can't afford any more mistakes. I have to kill you _now._"

He raised his wand a little higher.

"STOP!"

The door to the stairwell suddenly burst open, and a familiar set of Hogwarts robes and bushy brown hair emerged. Her eyes sought the group out quickly and she hurried toward them, her eyes on Draco.

The Slytherin turned to look over at her, his eyes wide in shock. For a long moment he just stared at her, like he couldn't understand where she'd come from, or why she was suddenly standing before him. It wasn't right. She was supposed to have been taken someplace safe. This could very well be the most dangerous place in the castle at the moment, and yet there she was.

After a moment he tore his eyes away, turning his attention back on the weakened figure of Dumbledore himself. The old wizard's eyes were half-shut, his breathing slow as he slid down the wall an inch. Draco gazed unseeingly at him.

"Go away, Granger. This has nothing to do with you."

Hermione frowned, defiantly moving closer. "Malfoy, put your wand down."

"Granger, didn't you hear me?!" Draco hissed, turning to glower at her. "I said _leave me alone_. This doesn't concern you at all."

She shook her head. "Edward is my friend. Dumbledore is my professor. If that doesn't concern me, I don't know what does."

"Granger, _please _just go!" he said again, his voice rising, a touch of desperation to his tone. "Get the bloody hell away!"

"No, I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here until you put your wand down-"

"What don't you fucking comprehend, _Mudblood_?!" Draco snapped, his silver eyes suddenly boring holes into her. He then paused momentarily, as if it was unusually absurd hearing the word "Mudblood" roll of his tongue. But why should it be? He had said it to her numerous times before, hadn't he? And yet all this year, not once did he call her Mudblood. Not to her directly nor did he say it to Ron or Harry in regards to her. Hermione froze up in shock, suddenly terrified by the intensity and vehemence of his anger. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him, disbelieving and shocked - maybe even hurt. Draco shook his head mentally, his anger flaring up again.

"Who do you think you are? You think you can just prance about in your Gryffindor bravery and nobility and think you can tell me what to do?! I'm not like you. I'm not your _precious Potter_! I have a job to do! An honor to uphold!" He looked down at Dumbledore again, clenching his jaw tightly. "I have no choices, no options! This is my last chance! And I want _you _to stay the fuck out of my way!"

"Stay out of your way?!" Hermione echoed, finding her voice in spite of her fear. "That ended the moment that for some sort of bizarre, unfathomable reason you actually saved my life!"

Draco was suddenly stunned, rendered speechless by her words. Even Ed was surprised, his eyes darting to the side to get a look at her. She had thanked _Edward_ that night, said that _Edward_ was the one who had saved her. True, Ed had known that her gratitude was being expressed to the wrong person, but... this meant that all along she had known, too. She'd simply refused to acknowledge it until now. Something had changed.

Hermione's features softened ever so slightly, taking another small, careful step toward Draco. "Did I just imagine it?" she went on quietly, her eyes never moving away from his face. "Did I just _imagine _you lowering your wand? In front of all those Death Eaters, in front of Lord Voldemort himself... did I just imagine that you were refusing to kill me?" Draco clenched his jaw, quickly lowering his eyes to the floor once again. "Whether you want to admit it or not, Malfoy, you made a _choice _that night. You chose a separate option."

A silence suddenly fell between them. Hermione watched him anxiously, waiting for some kind of reaction. She couldn't tell if her words were reaching him, but they were clearly affecting him somehow. She drew in a breath and took another step forward. At once Draco twitched back, his expression hardening as he looked back at her.

"You've got me all wrong, Granger," he said, his voice a near growl. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Do you think I'm going to hesitate from killing you right here on the spot? What makes you think I'd listen to you?!"

He quickly turned the wand that had been pointed at Edward on her, his hand still shaking visibly as he held it there. Hermione stopped, but didn't move back. She simply continued to watch him, to just stand perfectly still and stare at him with a growing defiance.

"Do you think you actually _matter_?!" he continued, his voice rising again. "You're _nothing _to me but a worthless Mudblood! If I kill you the Dark Lord will certainly reward me! And it will be one less of the scum polluting the wizard world! What makes you think you know me at all?! You _don't_, so shut the bloody hell-"

He suddenly stopped short, his eyes widening as he caught sight of something that shouldn't have been possible. Hermione had suddenly reached into her robe pocket, and for a brief moment Draco thought she was going to get her wand out. Instead, she pulled out a piece of parchment that looked like it had been crumpled up and smoothed out one too many times. Slowly, deliberately, she unfolded it and held it out in a way that he could see it.

Immediately Draco recognized his own handwriting written all over the page, and for a second he forgot how to breathe. He just stared at the unsent letter in disbelief for a long moment. Then finally, his voice just barely over a whisper, "How did you...?"

Hermione kept her eyes locked with his as she opened her mouth to speak. "You may say that I don't know you. You say that I've gotten you all wrong, and that you could just kill me with a simple flick of your wand. And if it weren't for this, I would have completely believed you without a second thought." She paused, letting out a small breath and shaking her head a little. "Somehow, I always believed that there was something other than this front that you so desperately cling to. That there was something other than your cold, heartless exterior. That you're not _as_ cruel, _as _ruthless, _as _brutally unfeeling as you appear to be. And it was as if I finally understood everything. All the pieces fell into place. Then Draco Malfoy was exactly who I thought he was."

The look in her eyes wavered slightly, taking on a sadder turn. It was as if she were disappointed by what she was looking at, by the face of the boy she couldn't stop watching. Draco wanted to turn away, to break from the intensity of her stare, but still it held him in place. His throat and chest had tightened uncomfortably, and returning her look was all Draco could do to keep from falling to his knees.

"But... is it too idealistic of me to believe that there's still some good in you? Is it foolish of me to still have so much faith in you? Because after all, this letter could be some kind of sick _joke_. I mean, it's not a far-fetched idea, right?" For just a moment, her eyes shifted, bringing the letter closer to her again and glancing over its contents quickly. "But I've never..."

She trailed off there, a sad frown on her face as she continued to look at the letter. There was a slight quake on her lower lip and she bit down on it to keep it still. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"And if every feeling, every emotion, every line in this letter is fake, false, a ruse... I wish to God that I never would have met you!" Her voice was shaking now, the anger, sadness, and frustration clearly evident with every syllable that she spoke. "So whether I'm desperately fooling myself or not, I want to know…" She looked up at him once again, holding the letter out and shaking it at him emphatically. "Is _any _of this real?!"

Draco continued to stare at her for a moment, his system completely rattled and his normally cool exterior crumbling. For the first time in a very long time his expression was pure, raw emotion. And, as though just realizing this, he tore his eyes away to look back down at the floor. The silence stretched, broken only by the sound of their breathing and the distant din of a battle that seemed light years away. It was as though Draco were trying to fix his mask and put it back on. But when he finally lifted his eyes to look directly at Hermione again, it was still gone, his face betraying everything in his heart.

Slowly, he lowered both wands, his grasp on them loosening as his arms fell limply to his sides. He'd finally stopped shaking. "Every word."

* * *

_Snap_.

Another Death Eater's robes burst into flames and he screamed, throwing his arms up in the air as he fell back, his wand flying some distance away. Roy waited for him to collapse to one side before taking away the oxygen and stifling the fire, then moved on to another opponent. The numbers were dwindling; most of the Death Eaters were unconscious, those who weren't either had the sense to retreat or were stupid enough to keep fighting. It was almost admirable. But mostly stupid.

The wizards, of course, had still suffered substantial losses so far. Many of those fighting on their side had received severe injuries of almost every kind. A good number of those fighters were students, not much older than the Fullmetal Alchemist himself. Roy clenched his jaw and snapped his fingers, causing a large explosion in the air mere centimeters from an attacking Death Eater's face. The robed figure staggered backward, leaving himself open for an attack from none other than Alphonse Elric.

"Colonel Mustang!" Al quickly shoved the Death Eater to one side as he hurried up to Roy. "Colonel, have you seen my brother? He ran off earlier-"

"Some time ago, yes, he was searching for the Malfoy boy- ALPHONSE!"

There was a loud CLANG as a spell hit one of Al's shoulders and bounced off, but not without leaving a neat dent in its wake. The younger Elric staggered a little from the force of it, whirling around to face his attacker: the Death Eater that he'd shoved aside just a moment ago. Roy quickly stepped forward and snapped his fingers, making the air around the dark wizard to explode malevolently.

"Th-Thank-"

"You can't be careless, turning your back on the enemy like that," Roy chided, frowning as his eyes swept over the expanse of the hallway. "Your brother can take care of himself, you know that."

"Yeah, but- I've got a bad feeling."

Roy frowned at him. "This is no time to act on hunches! You need to keep focused."

But as Al was scolded Professor Snape hurried by, sweeping past them and quickly vanishing up a staircase a short ways further down the hall from where they stood. Al noticed this and was distracted again, raising his head with a small gasp of shock. He took a step forward.

"Ah- That was-"

"ALPHONSE!"

The colonel shoved at the suit of armor once more, pushing him to the side and out of the way of a stray spell. He turned to where that one had come from and snapped again, making another explosion before looking back at Al, frowning still more angrily.

"_Focus_! This isn't the time to be-"

"But that was a professor- I saw Miss Hermione go up that way a moment ago too, and- Maybe nii-san's the-"

There was another bang, making both Roy and Al whirl around to see what was going on. It had come from further down, where Armstrong had transmuted a stretch of the hallway into a maze of spikes. They watched as some of those spikes were blasted apart, eyes widening ever so slightly. And before they knew it, more Death Eaters were surging through, joining the others. Behind them was a trail of wizards and a few of the Amestrian soldiers, following their opponents closely.

"Damn," Roy muttered under his breath, clenching his jaw and tugging at his glove a little. "They're all coming down this way..."

"But why?" Al shifted his weight uneasily, letting out a short breath. He looked around them, making an anxious sort of noise as the battles around them escalated. "There are so many- Ah!"

He jumped a little bit as he noticed a group of Death Eaters heads up the same stairway he'd seen Snape go to. Roy turned slightly toward him while bringing up a curtain of fire to keep the Death Eaters from progressing any closer. Upon noticing Al take that halting step forward to follow them, he reached out to grab onto his arm and stop him. The light resistance was still enough to make Al turn back.

"Colonel, the Death Eaters... I have to-"

"You don't have to do anything. If Fullmetal's up there, he can handle them on his own. Leave it to him."

Another group of Death Eaters rushed past them, led by something that looked like a hybrid of a man and a wolf. Al gasped again, following them very intently with his eyes and pulling back from the colonel more.

"I _know _about nii-san, but it's also _Miss Hermione_ that-"

"Alphonse, you're needed _here_!!"

There was another loud bang, though this time it was most certainly the sound of a particularly good rifle. Again, they turned toward it, watching a Death Eater that had been coming up to them stumble to the ground as he took that shot right in the leg. Riza Hawkeye emerged suddenly and moved to Roy's side, almost casually reloading her rifle.

"Colonel, these ones are all that are left. The rest have retreated, some even taking a few of their wounded back."

Roy nodded at Riza firmly. "Good enough. Take whoever you can into custody, the wizarding ministry will deal with that."

Riza saluted quickly. "Yes sir."

The colonel then turned back to the suit of armor at his side. "Now Alponse, we'll need help getting the-"

He stopped short, eyes widening ever so slightly. Al had vanished. Roy frowned, whirling around and making another Death Eater burst into flames as Riza whipped out both of her pistols and shot the wizard right down.

"Damn."

* * *

The door to the stairwell burst open again. At first only the dark robes were visible, sending everyone back on their guard as Draco and Hermione both turned to face the intruder. The sallow face of Severus Snape frowned back at them as he magically locked the door behind him. His eyes darted between Edward and Hermione.

"Elric... Granger? What in the bloody hell are you all doing up here?"

Still bound and paralyzed, Ed could do nothing more than roll his eyes. The fact that Snape was there at all was worrisome to him: he hadn't forgotten that Snape was also a Death Eater and that he'd been offering Draco help all year long. He was certain that the DADA professor's presence was anything but comforting. Draco and Hermione said nothing, just looking at him in what seemed to be shock.

Snape didn't wait for an answer. He strode forward quickly, wand out. "Idiots! What business do you have putting yourselves in mortal danger! You need to leave _now_!"

Three sets of eyes widened. Did that mean...? "Professor-"

He flicked his wand in Ed's direction, undoing the spells that had held him bound. Edward sagged into a more natural position, stretching a little and flexing out his fingers, then turned to look at Snape in shock. He didn't understand. He was a Death Eater, and yet here he was helping them escape instead of forcing Draco to finish the job and kill Dumbledore.

"Why...?"

"Severus," came the headmaster's weak voice. "You must lead them away... Get Harry as well..."

Dumbledore raised a hand and gestured vaguely to his left. Hermione's eyes grew wide and she moved haltingly in that direction, one hand outstretched in front of her as though she were feeling through the air. Suddenly she struck something solid and her fingers curled around it, yanking her arm back and revealing a paralyzed Harry Potter, staring around at everybody.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped, quickly throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace. Draco and Ed both looked almost horrified to see that he was there.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Ed muttered. "The _whole time_, he was just...?"

The headmaster gave a weak sort of laugh at that. "Yes, Edward... He was."

Hermione quickly pulled back, making quick work of freeing Harry from his paralysis spell. He slumped forward at once, but the shock in his bright green eyes was still very clear as he stared first at Edward, then at Draco and Hermione. Draco frowned a little when he noticed this and quickly looked away.

"Malfoy..."

"Save it, Potter."

Snape fixed Harry with a disapproving glare. "There's no time to waste, the Death Eaters will be here any moment!"

Dumbledore agreed, nodding slowly. "Harry, go... Someplace safe..."

Harry turned toward the old wizard quickly, eyes widening as he gave him a pleading look. "But- Wait a minute- You have to get out of here too, Professor!"

Ed turned as well. "When they get here, they'll kill you-"

A small smile played on the headmaster's lips as he looked back at them. "Yes, I expect they will. Now you must hurry, and leave with the others..."

Snape called out again. "Potter, Malfoy, Elric, Granger, stop this needless dilly dallying. Get out now!"

Ed frowned, ignoring the sound of Snape's voice. All his attention was on Dumbledore. "With all due respect, sir, I can't leave you here to be killed. Dying may be okay with you, but if you think I'm gonna blindly follow that order, you're sorely mistaken."

Dumbledore merely looked up at Edward for a moment, and then suddenly that merry twinkle could be seen in his eyes again. The small smile on his face grew ever so slightly. But before he could utter a word, Harry was bending down to sling one of Dumbledore's arms over his shoulders and help him to his feet. Snape was yelling again as Ed took the other arm and they all started to move toward the door.

"Be quick! The Death Eaters are on their way up here as we speak! It will be even worse if Greyback is among them-"

Just as the group was reunited, the door crashed open and, with a scream from Hermione, everyone quickly backed away. It was too late to run now.

A group of Death Eaters suddenly piled out in an ever shifting mass of black robes and quickly looked around them. Before any of the others could whip out their wands, the Death Eaters were on them, grabbing at Harry and Edward, tearing Dumbledore away from them, yanking Snape to one side. At once, Harry and Ed struggled, trying to wrench their arms free of their grasp. Harry was recaptured easily, the Death Eater wrapping his arms tight about Harry's arms and shoulders, holding him fast.

"Let me go!"

Ed managed to free an arm and twisted around to face his attacker, bringing his knee up to hit the bastard right in the gut. But before he could land any further hits, another Death Eater came up and caught him around the wrist to stop his punches. With a growl, Ed tried to kick out at this new person, but just as he did so his first captor grabbed him by the other arm and yanked at him, throwing him off balance. He tried again, but when he turned slightly to face the other one, he suddenly found himself staring down the wrong end of someone's wand, his nose just inches from the tip.

He froze immediately, biting back a vicious curse as he glared at the thing. He turned a brief, hate filled glare up at the skull mask of his third attacker. A quick glance back toward the others told him that they were no better off.

Only Draco and Hermione hadn't been grabbed just yet, as there weren't quite enough Death Eaters to do so. But it still looked like they were in a much worse fix: a big, rangy man with matted grey hair and whiskers with Death Eater's robes that looked uncomfortably tight on him was facing them, licking his chops and flexing his long, yellow-nailed fingers eagerly. Something about him made Ed think he was some kind of human-wolf chimera. No, not a chimera. Ed corrected himself on this. A werewolf.

"Well well, look what we have here." His voice was grainy and hoarse, almost like a growl, but the tone he used was almost playful and light. He was amused, like a dog who'd found a wonderful new toy to gnaw on.

"Let the students go," Snape hissed, no longer paying the wand in his face much attention. "Your quarrel is not with them!"

"Silence!" shouted one Death Eater, shaking his wand in the professor's face. "I wouldn't be one to start giving orders, Severus, after the Dark Lord hears what _you've _been up to this year."

The werewolf immediately looked over to Snape. His lips twitched a little, flashing his teeth. "I don't take orders from _you_."

"Let them go, Greyback!" Draco shouted suddenly, balling his hands into tight fists at his sides. Several Death Eaters were taken aback by the exclamation, as were Snape, Hermione, and Harry. Ed almost wanted to smile. Draco had come a long way in a very short period of time. "Let them go or I'll-"

Greyback whirled around again to look at him, an amused smirk on his face. "Or you'll what? Call _Daddy dear _to kick me out of the Circle?"

A round of amused snickers and laughter rippled through the other Death Eaters at that. Ed and Harry squirmed a little, but the holds on them didn't weaken at all. The wicked smirk on the werewolf's face broadened into a predatory grin as he took a step closer to Draco and Hermione.

"Does it actually _matter _to you what happens to your classmates here?"

The Malfoy heir didn't answer, just stared back at the older man, his mouth twitching ever so slightly. Greyback rasped out a brief chuckle as his eyes then turned toward Hermione.

"Mmm... While we're all here, might as well have a taste of the Mudblood as a consolation gift, eh, Malfoy?" He turned fully toward her, his eyes gleaming, his tongue running briefly over his canines. Hermione shrank back with a small gasp.

Draco's eyes went even wider. "You- You keep away from her!"

His protest went ignored by the werewolf, his focus set completely on Hermione. His eyes moved over her entire form, from her head to her feet and back up again. His nose twitched as he sniffed at the air around her. Hermione had to tear her eyes away, quickly dropping her gaze to the floor. She gasped softly. Her wand: it had fallen to the floor and rolled a short distance away. If she could get it...

"She looks positively appetizing," Greyback mused allowed. "Never knew a Mudblood that smelt so good, can barely contain myself from ravishing her on the spot." His grin broadened. "Can hardly blame you, Malfoy, for being so infatuated with her."

"I said to keep away from her!"

He pressed closer to her, licking at his lips hungrily. "And just what will _you _do about it, boy?" he challenged, eyes rolling to the side to look at him.

Draco held his gaze, not daring to look away. He then moved, pulling Hermione back a step and positioning himself defensively between her and Greyback. Hermione's eyes grew wider and she found herself staring at the Slytherin in surprise.

"You'll have to get through me first."

Greyback's grin grew, a hoarse sound that could have been some sort of laugh escaping him. One of the Death Eaters looked back at him with a shout.

"Kill them, Fenrir! Bloody traitors and Mudbloods, dying's all they're good for!"

The werewolf laughed again. "Lucky me! I'll be gettin' a taste of a Malfoy tonight, too!"

Unable to wait another moment, Hermione hurried past Draco toward the door, making a desperate dive for her wand where it was lying on the floor. Seeing this, Greyback surged forward, reaching out with his claw-like hands to grab her. Harry's eyes widened and he squirmed against his captor again, trying to wriggle free.

"'Mione!"

Draco ran to cover her as well, but he wasn't fast enough to match the werewolf. Hermione screamed, falling back and throwing her arms up in front of her protectively. Both Ed and Harry were struggling, the Death Eaters all erupting in raucous laughter as their blood-thirsty companion descended on his prey. But that died quickly when, with a loud metallic clang, Greyback was quite suddenly knocked to one side, tumbling a good distance over on the ground before falling still. The other Death Eaters merely stared, clearly stunned, as the tall suit of armor moved in front of Hermione.

"Is everyone okay?"

Ed grinned. Taking advantage of their state of shock, he pulled himself forward, swinging and flipping up in his captors' grasp to drive the soles of his boots right into their faces. Their masks cracked under the force, their wearers falling gracelessly to the floor as Ed righted himself easily and landed nimbly (but heavily) on top of them.

Recognizing their cue, the others exploded into action. Al took the initiative to grab the nearest Death Eater, knocking him out with a single punch to the side of his head before moving on to another one. He didn't pay much mind to the spells they were throwing at him, simply stepping out of their way before throwing his punches. Harry wrenched himself free from his captor as well, whipping out his wand and quickly casting a Banishing spell to knock him away. Snape also quickly pulled away and used Flagrate against his opponent, making fiery marks on the other's robes. Ed moved in on those ones quickly, kicking at the Death Eaters' hands to knock their wands away before they could retaliate and following through with an automail punch to the face.

It wasn't long before all of the Death Eaters were down and sprawled out on the floor, groaning in pain or paralyzed stiff. The brothers turned to one another and, with a toothy grin plastered across Ed's face, bumped their fists against the other's.

"Not bad, little brother. Perfect timing."

"_Someone _has to pick up after you, nii-san."

Draco and Hermione were still a little stunned, watching them all with wide eyes. Al quickly moved to Dumbledore's side, helping him up and offering solid support. Harry went to assist him as well, all of which the headmaster responded to by smiling benignly and murmuring his thanks. Upon hearing a soft groan and a cough in Greyback's direction, Ed crossed over to where the werewolf had ended up and promptly seated himself on his back, right between his shoulders. That was one of the things about automail that Ed often found good use for: his collective weight was _very _heavy.

Greyback grunted at the sudden weight, the air rushing out of him as he was pressed more into the floor, but after a moment he started to struggle against him. Ed immediately slapped his hands together and transmuted the plating on his automail arm into a sharp blade, then slammed the pointed tip into the ground just scant centimeters from the tip of Greyback's nose with a resounding clang of metal.

"Now now," Ed chided in a playful, almost sing-song tone, "you have to stay down. Can't have you waking up before your friends!"

The werewolf growled angrily and Ed could feel him shifting beneath him, preparing to throw him off. But before he could do anything Ed had his wand out in his other hand and promptly cast _Impedimenta_ on him, saying the incantation almost cheerfully. A toothy grin was across his face as the Death Eater was completely paralyzed, and Ed gave him a pat on the head.

"Atta boy."

Just then there was the sound of more footsteps in the stairwell and more wizards emerged from the opening. This time, though, they weren't Death Eaters. They looked like a fairly motley crew: several tall redheaded guys, a man in a violet top hat, and a pink-cheeked brunette lady to name a few. Not to mention that man with the worn brown suit jacket and the familiar girl with the heart-shaped face. They all looked around them in surprise, eyes widening as they saw all the Death Eaters on the floor and Dumbledore leaning against Alphonse.

"Headmaster! You're all right!"

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "The Order!"

Some of the members of the Order of the Phoenix quickly set about taking the downed Death Eaters away while the others attended to Harry, Dumbledore, and Hermione. Mere moments after their arrival did more people appear, except this time Ed knew some of their faces all too well. Colonel Mustang was pushing through the others to get in front, Lt. Hawkeye and Lt. Col. Hughes just behind him. A few more Amestrian soldiers, each looking thoroughly worn out, trailed in behind them. The colonel took one good look around before turning back to those soldiers.

"Good work, Fullmetal. Everyone, help the Order take these people into custody."

The soldiers saluted him before moving to do so. Ed moved out of their way as they reached to grab Greyback, transmuting his arm back to normal. Some of the members of the Order went straight to Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore, speaking to them in soft, worried tones. Roy and Hughes, on the other hand, strode over to Snape and Draco, frowns on their faces.

"Draco Malfoy," Roy said coolly, "you're hereby under arrest for the attempted murder of Albus Dumbledore."

Ed whirled around in shock when he heard this, his eyes wide. They couldn't be serious. After all this?! "The hell- Colonel! He didn't murder anyone!"

"_Attempted_ murder," Hughes repeated, an almost frighteningly serious look on his face as he looked between the two teenagers. "Whether he did or didn't, we're taking him in on account of working alongside the Death Eaters." He then turned toward Snape. "And Mr. Snape, I'll have to ask you to come with us for questioning."

"This is ridiculous," Snape scowled. "You've no authority here-"

"We're making these arrests on behalf of your own Ministry," Roy said quickly, cutting him off. "We have the authority to bring in anyone we deem to be allied with your Dark Lord."

He then nodded at Hughes who, nodding back, pulled some handcuffs out and stepped toward the DADA professor.

"Wait," Dumbledore intervened gently. "I can vouch for Severus, he's no longer a Death Eater... Young Mr. Malfoy as well..."

"My apologies, headmaster," Roy said with a small bow of his head. "But even if it is by your word, we can't take any unnecessary risks. If he's truly innocent, there shouldn't be any trouble proving that to your government."

The headmaster sighed heavily at hearing this, then simply nodded, too exhausted to say anything further as he leaned against Alphonse some more. Snape recoiled from Hughes' attempt to cuff him, insisting he would suffer no further indignity while resigning himself to going with them. Draco just watched silently, his face blank as Riza moved to put a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

Balling his hands into fists, Ed ran over to grab onto Roy's arm and keep him from doing anything further. "And Malfoy? You've got no proof that he was-"

"What more proof would I need, Fullmetal?" Roy quipped, frowning down at Edward. "Look around you. We've _just _managed to take this battle. A battle that wouldn't have happened had it not been for Draco's actions."

"Innocent till proven guilty!"

Roy's frown deepened, his dark eyes narrowing. "Fullmetal, do you really expect us to believe that he had nothing to do with what went on here? After everything you'd reported back to me?"

"There were extraneous circumstances! He's as much a victim in this as anybody else, you can't just go and arrest him without-"

Draco gave him a sharp look, interrupting with a mildly annoyed, "Elric, just _shut it_."

"No, _you _shut up!" Ed snapped back before shooting Roy another venomous look. "After all this, no way in hell I'm just gonna let Colonel Bastard here go and-"

"_Fullmetal_." The colonel's voice became more stern, more authoritative. "Don't make me charge you for insubordination and obstructing justice. It'll be difficult to help anybody here from the inside of a jail cell."

Edward flinched back, but his eyes still narrowed as he gave the colonel a critical look. He then glanced toward Draco, who seemed equal parts fearful of his fate and resigned to it. He was frowning at the handcuffs on his hands, but it was almost as though he knew they deserved to be there. His eyes darted upward once, only to drop again upon seeing the look on Hermione's face.

After drawing in a deep breath through his nostrils, Ed addressed the colonel again. "What's gonna happen to him?"

Roy shook his head. "That's not up to me to decide."

Without another word on the subject the colonel headed out, following the other Amestrian soldiers and Order members as they took the Death Eaters away and leaving Ed, Al, Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore behind. Snape walked alongside Draco, Hughes and Hawkeye following close behind them. Draco looked more sullen than ever before, his shoulders slightly slumped. Ed glowered at Mustang, jaw clenched. _This _was why he'd stopped reporting. He knew something rash like this would happen, and he didn't want that at all.

"Dammit...!"

Al looked toward him. "Nii-san..."

"This isn't right," he growled, then turned toward Dumbledore and the others. "Professor, you've got a strong influence on the wizarding world! You know what Malfoy's situation was like, don't you? Isn't there something we can do?!"

The two Gryffindor students were frowning thoughtfully, Hermione still hanging onto Harry's arm and clutching anxiously at the sleeve of his robes. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, clearly doing her best to run every possibility through her head as fast as possible. Dumbledore was weakening by the moment, practically sagging in Al's grasp now as he let out a weary sigh.

"Yes," the headmaster said softly. "There should be... We _must _have this all straightened out..."

Then Hermione looked up. "Couldn't Draco have a hearing?"

Ed and Al exchanged a curious look, then both turned toward her. "A hearing?"

Harry's eyes seemed to brighten slightly. "Oh yeah, he could!"

Alphonse looked over at Harry. "What's a hearing?"

"Back in fifth year I was accused of using underage magic in front of a Muggle - that's illegal, after all - and I had to go right to the Ministry and explain what happened and why. There were witnesses called out and everything."

Al tilted his head slightly. "Oh, you mean a trial."

Hermione nodded. "Yes. He deserves that, at the very least."

Eyes widening, Ed looked to the headmaster again. "Professor?"

Slowly, Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes... Yes, I agree. I'll talk to the minister as soon as possible. I'm sure I can get him to see reason..."

Only marginally cheered with this knowledge, the group started to leave. Ed, Al, and Harry all went with Dumbledore: Al did all of the supporting and carrying as they walked, but Ed and Harry had insisted on going with them back to the headmaster's office. Which left Hermione falling behind on the way back into the castle.

She hesitated before descending the stairwell, pausing to glance back at the surroundings. Everyone was gone, and there was scarcely a trace that anything had gone on there at all. The battle had come to an end as the sounds of fighting were no longer audible from there. All that was left was the green Dark Mark in the sky, and even that was already diminishing into thin air.

Nothing was left. Nothing but a crumpled piece of parchment that had fallen, forgotten once again, to the floor.

* * *

**Author's Note: **yep, that's right, guys. This story isn't over just yet.

until next time... REVIEW ON YOUR WAY OUT!! ILUGUYS!!!


	41. Prove Me Guilty

**Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold  
**_**by hikaranko**_

**Summary:** Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting... Over the months, Ed's learned a lot of new things, one of them being "never stick your nose in where it's not wanted." But now it's too late to back out. Something must be done, before the situation gets any worse... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish and hope and pray that one day I will wake up and have all the rights to have the Fullmetal Alchemist series, it has not yet happened. So FMA, my most favorite and the absolutely most brilliant manga series EVAR, belongs to Hiromu Arakawa (and Studio BONES). All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling... and this story belongs to me and MJade-1! ^_^

**Author's Note:** oh my God. I can't even begin to apologize for how long it took for this chapter to be finished. I had the worst case of writer's block EVER and it didn't help that MJade and I hadn't been in contact forever. Real Life took over and between the writer's block and finishing school and looking for jobs and having/losing boyfriends and moving to a different state (sob, why MJade, whyyyy) and drama up the wazoo... sadly, CSAG suffered a hit. RL does have to come first in our lives, (unfortunately?) but now that all the crap is out of the way, MJade and i were FINALLY able to sit down and hash this baby out.

SO HERE IT IS. THE LONG AWAITED CHAPTER 41.

* * *

**Chapter 41  
****Prove Me Guilty**

Without preamble the barred door swung open, making room for the tall, dark-robed man to pass through them and enter the small, darkened room. The words barked by the guard were jumbled and difficult to understand, but it was easy for it to be understood as "get in there and stay put" by any number of different standards. Either way, it made Severus Snape more than a little irate with the manner in which the Amestrians treated those who were being detained only for questioning, and he shook his head furiously as the guard's footsteps grew faint.

"Damn it all!" he hissed under his breath. "They should never have allowed that to pass... That _imbecile _of a minister..."

He finally looked away from the door, turning his head to scan the dark holding cell. Not that there was much to see: four stone walls and a bench on the wall opposite the door. Standard for most jails, though aside from being charmed to retain its prisoners, this one looked more like a Muggle jail cell than anything else. As Snape glanced around he spotted Draco sitting on the bench.

It was pitiful, a painful sight to behold. Draco Malfoy, who'd been such a strong, proud creature hardly a year earlier, now sat defeated and lost in the shadows of the cold jail cell. His clothes were rumpled and dirty from earlier events, his hair frazzled and unkempt, as though his hands had tore their way through the short locks one too many times. He cradled his head in his hands with his face hidden from view; though it was hardly necessary to see his expression in order to know what he was feeling. He drew in deep, ragged breaths that nearly shook his entire body with each exhale as though it pained him in a way that was far beyond the physical.

An almost sad look flickered over Snape's face, but was gone again in an instant. "Draco..."

The young man didn't answer.

"Draco... They moved your hearing earlier. Tomorrow."

Still no response. Snape took a step closer.

"Your trial is in a few hours. The best we can do right now is prepare for how you are to approach your case. To prove your innocence."

Not a word. He didn't even twitch or move at the sound of the other's voice. Snape's eyebrows knitted together a bit, letting out a frustrated breath.

"Draco, are you even listening to me?'

Finally, slowly, Draco lifted his head, his hair falling in a messy curtain over his face, his eyes lifeless and unseeing. It was as though he didn't even see Snape there and was looking past him - maybe even _through _him.

"They should..." His voice was soft and hoarse.

Hearing Draco speak at long last took Snape aback, but after a moment he shook it off, frowning slightly. "What?"

"They should take me..."

"What are you talking about?"

Draco blinked slowly, his eyes quickly becoming glassy. His voice had a slight tremble to it and he had to squeeze his eyes shut, as though that would help him get a grip. "The dementors... They should take me... I need to be locked up in Azkaban..."

Snape scowled. "Don't be foolish, boy-"

With a cry, Draco yanked his sleeve further up his arm, revealing the skull and snake symbol burned into his skin. The sight of it invoked the memory of that night in the clearing when the dark lord claimed Draco as one of his followers, where a mere boy had been given orders to murder a great and powerful old wizard or watch his loved ones suffer. Snape drew in a breath, his eyes narrowing slightly at the mark. A mere boy. He should've had his whole life ahead of him, and it was taken away by a tattoo on his arm.

"Look at this! This mark brands me for life! I'm always going to be this horrible thing! There's no chance of redemption for me! I _am_ a Death Eater!"

Draco choked the words out desperately, cutting Snape off before he could even think about trying to give him any semblance of hope. He could barely keep himself from sobbing as it was, and he wondered idly if maybe being a Death Eater could help him be numb. He was supposed to be a cold-hearted killer now; he didn't deserve to feel as human as he still did.

"I'm no better than my father! I couldn't even save those that I... I-I couldn't! They could have died, my mother, Hermione..."

The professor's scowl deepened in disapproval as he strode over to grasp Draco by his shoulders, shaking him forcefully. "Draco, get a hold of yourself! Your hearing is tomorrow, you can still clear your name."

He squirmed, weakly attempting to escape the professor's hold on him. "I don't give a damn about clearing my name, Snape! I almost killed a man! Were it not for Elric, Granger, and you intervening..." He shook his head, redoubling his efforts to pry himself free of Snape's grip. "No! No, they're safer with me behind bars!"

"Draco, listen to yourself! You're acting like a child!"

"You don't get it!" he shouted, the sound wrenched from his throat in frustrated hysterics, hoarse and raw and trembling. "I'm a fucking heartless minion of the Dark Lord! They were all right about me, I'm just like the rest of them! I _am _cruel, ruthless, unfeeling... I almost destroyed Hogwarts letting them in the castle... THEY HAVE TO! THEY NEED TO TAKE ME TO AZKABAN! I NEED TO RECEIVE THE DEMENTOR'S KISS!"

Without warning, Snape reared his arm back and slapped him hard across the face. "'Safer behind bars'? 'Receive the Dementor's kiss'? Who are you trying to protect? Hermione? Your mother?" Snape's voice lowered, rough and demanding. "Or _yourself_?"

Immediately Draco stilled, coming down from his bout of hysteria as he stared wide-eyed at a section of the stone wall nearest him. Then he shut them again, clenching his jaw in frustration. His godfather watched him in silence, hands at his sides.

"Draco..." His voice was quiet, controlled. "I know you're in pain. I know you feel guilty. But you are not a Death Eater. Regardless of what you may think, having this mark on you does not make you a Death Eater."

Draco choked out a sob, burying his face in his hands, running them through his messy hair. He shook his head slowly, muttering his disbelief inaudibly against his palms. Snape didn't relent; he went on, his eyes locked on the younger man's form.

"A Death Eater would follow Voldemort's orders without question. A Death Eater would devastate others with relish. A Death Eater would not think twice about murdering those who are innocent..." His gaze dropped away from him for a moment. "I was once like that... Once lived for killing Muggleborns and blood traitors... once long ago."

Snape pulled up his own sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark emblazoned on his skin, bold and black and foreboding. "This mark... This mark made me a prisoner. A prisoner to my own desires, my own temptations. I was a prisoner of the Dark Lord, of Voldemort. I still feel trapped. Even more than I feel behind these bars."

He fell silent for a time, as though lost deep in his thoughts and in shadows of memories long past. And then finally, he looked up again.

"Draco, you are nothing like me. You are nothing like them. You did it to save your mother, you did it to save those you love. You protected Granger from Greyback and fought back the other Death Eaters. You are a good person though bad things happen to you. But because of that, you have the chance to change things. To free those who are also trapped."

For a long moment Draco remained silent, with Snape just looking at him with an expectant, albeit frustrated expression on his face. Ever so slowly, the haze in Draco's mind began to recede. He'd heard this somewhere before; the realization made the image of a pair of golden eyes burning holes into his skull flash in his mind. The words were different, but the message was surely the same: He was being selfish. Accepting death was the easy way out. _Death won't help. At least while you're alive, you have the ability and the chance, the option, to do something to change things._

The tension in his shoulders was slowly released, and after another moment passed, Draco straightened in his seat a little and raised his head. And when his gaze met with Snape's, the older wizard had to admit to himself that seeing the fight back in those silver eyes was more than a small relief. His jaw set determinedly, Draco spoke once again, but this time his voice was strong and firm; a far cry from the defeated whimpering of just moments before.

"What must I do?"

* * *

Edward quirked an eyebrow upward and frowned, hands buried deep in his pockets as he shifted his weight onto his prosthetic leg. His eyes moved between Dumbledore as he sat behind his desk and Colonel Mustang who stood beside him. They'd spent the past short while discussing what had happened in that battlefield, more or less explaining it all to him in an indirect sort of manner, and so far the Fullmetal Alchemist hadn't uttered a word. He just _looked _at them, frowning, not quite sure what to think one way or the other.

Apparently, Dumbledore had taken it upon himself to extend Roy a special "invitation" to Hogwarts some time ago, to be used only in an emergency and to be activated at either Dumbledore's or another Order member's discretion. He'd also chosen to keep Roy as updated as possible after Ed had stopped submitting reports. So when tensions between Ed, Draco, and Hermione had escalated the way that they had, the colonel had been informed. Roy had then chosen to take Narcissa out onto that yacht cruise he'd given her as a present for Christmas, which was exactly where she still was at that moment: safely out at sea in the Caribbean. Roy had been retrieved from there by a few members of the Order of the Phoenix when the fighting at Hogwarts broke out and, after quickly gathering reinforcements from East City and Central, they used the emergency portkey to get to the castle in the nick of time.

Or so the two older men were telling him. This wasn't _quite _ideal in Ed's eyes. For one thing, it all seemed horribly convenient, even though he did know of the headmaster's tendency to know absolutely everything and only speak when he thought it necessary. And for another, he just wasn't sure he liked some of the implications there. He'd admit that the military intervention had been beneficial. But it made it seem as though his presence in the school had been, for the most part, unnecessary. Like the past year of torment that he'd endured had been for no reason other than for Mustang to get his jollies out of forcing Ed into staying in one place.

"Speaking of which, headmaster," Roy said calmly, "my men have finished transporting the Death Eaters from the school to your ministry's headquarters, awaiting their transfer to Azkaban."

"Good, good," Dumbledore replied with a nod. "Thank you..."

Ed turned his look over to Roy. "Including Malfoy and Snape?"

Roy glanced toward him as well. "Malfoy, yes. Snape proved himself guilt-free while being questioned and was just escorted back to his quarters. You didn't notice him?"

The frown on Ed's face only deepened, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Even though he's a former Death Eater, he gets out scott free?"

"Professor Snape has very particular circumstances," Dumbledore answered in the colonel's stead. "I vouched for his innocence to the Ministry a very long time ago... But that brings us back in our discussion to young Mr. Malfoy and his situation."

Gold eyes snapped back up to focus on Dumbledore, watching him almost warily as he folded his hands and leaned forward on his desk. Ed's jaw clenched tight and he had to draw in a deep breath through his nostrils.

"What're they doing with him?"

The headmaster's gaze settled on Edward. "As promised, I have gone and spoken with the Wizengamot on his behalf. I'm afraid I was unable to convince them of Draco's complete innocence in the situation, but..."

Ed quirked an eyebrow. "But?"

"They've agreed to hold a hearing for him."

He let out a small, relieved breath. At least that was one worry off his shoulders. Though it was quickly replaced with the burdens of figuring out what anyone could do or say to truly prove his innocence. "Good, we can get testimonies from Harry and Hermione, gather up anything that could help us in our cause... We don't have a whole lot of time. When's it scheduled for? Next week?"

Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "No."

He relaxed a little. Good. If it was in a month's time, that was even better. "So when?"

"Tomorrow."

Ed's jaw dropped. "What?"

Roy's eyes widened slightly, both eyebrows arching upward. "Headmaster, that- To be holding it so quickly-"

"_'Quickly'_? _That's_ the understatement of the century!" Ed interjected, running his hands through his hair and ruffling it up in frustration. "This is fucking insane! That literally gives us no time! Like hell we can find anything to help build up our case in less than 12 hours! They're doing this on _purpose_! Bastards, trying to make sure they can convict Malfoy to Azkaban like this, just wait 'till I get my hands on 'em, they're gonna-"

"Fullmetal." Roy interrupted his ranting with a sharp glare in Ed's direction. "Calm down and for crying out loud, keep quiet."

Ed shot a glare right back, opening his mouth to protest further, but shut it again. He scowled and quickly looked away, shoving his fists deep into his pockets with an annoyed grunt. The colonel looked back up at Dumbledore, frowning.

"Headmaster, couldn't you request a later date? I'm afraid tomorrow is..."

"I know, it is much too quick for my liking... But I'm hoping this can be to our advantage. After all, we're lucky they agreed to having the hearing at all." Dumbledore then peered over the rim of his glasses at the younger man, eyes twinkling. "I assume you wish to be present, Edward?"

He didn't answer. Not that it mattered how he responded, since he was fairly sure Dumbledore was going to decide for him anyway. Ed merely frowned and glanced off to one side. Dumbledore smiled softly, nodding.

"I'll arrange for someone to take you to the proceedings before they begin."

His frown deepened, but he didn't turn to look over at the professor just yet. The headmaster was unperturbed, turning instead to look at Colonel Mustang.

"Thank you for your time, Colonel," he said with a nod. "You may go now."

Roy nodded back, snapping into a salute. "Yes, sir." He turned to Edward. "Come on, Fullmetal."

Ed let out a breath and started to turn as well, but just as he did so Dumbledore raised a hand. "Actually, I'd like to speak with Edward alone. If you don't mind, Colonel?"

The colonel stopped dead in his tracks, turning back toward the headmaster with a surprised blink. He then looked over at Ed with a quirked eyebrow. Ed didn't look one way or the other, just stared dead ahead, a deep frown on his face. He should've known Dumbledore would've pulled something like this, sly old man that he was. That was fine enough by him, though. Of course he had more to say, and many more questions. So without turning his head, Ed gave the colonel a barely perceptible nod in the direction of the office door.

Not that Roy needed his permission. Still frowning, he also nodded, but toward the headmaster. "Of course, sir."

And with that, he turned on his heel and swiftly left the office. Dumbledore looked after him for a moment, then turned to Edward again. He leaned forward on his desk, hands still clasped loosely in front of him, the ever benign smile on his face.

"Now... I believe you have questions for me?"

The frown on Ed's face deepened as he once again faced Dumbledore properly. As a matter of fact, he did. He had so many questions in regard to what exactly he was supposed to have been doing in Hogwarts all this time... He had even _more _questions about Dumbledore himself, but he wasn't entirely sure he would manage to get that sort of information out of him.

"Professor..." He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Why did you even bother bringing me here? If you knew from the beginning what Malfoy was up to, you could've stopped him all on your own. You probably could've actually stopped him from letting the Death Eaters in here. Why go to all the trouble of getting someone all the way from Amestris to wa-"

Dumbledore didn't even raise his voice as he interrupted. "_You _were needed, Edward."

Ed blinked, his tirade of questions momentarily stopped. "What... _me_?"

The old wizard nodded slowly, eyes twinkling.

"But... why _me_? I barely did anything. I couldn't even stop him from carrying out the bulk of his mission! I made a bunch of stupid mistakes, was way too careless and took it _way_ too easy... But you could've stopped him from the beginning. You knew everything!"

"Perhaps... But merely putting an end to his actions would've been meaningless."

"No it wouldn't, the Death Eater's invasion on the castle would never-"

"You should know better than I," Dumbledore interrupted gently, "that Draco is a misled creature, Edward. He wouldn't have come as far as he has on his own. I needed you to be a friend to him, to help him realize that he had choices in spite of his predicament."

Ed frowned. "Sir, he never even listened to me. He barely talked to me, he didn't want any of my advice, let alone my friendship. I don't-"

"And yet somehow," Dumbledore said evenly, giving Edward an appraising look, "you still affected him to the point where he understood he could make a better life for himself."

The young alchemist shook his head, glancing off to one side. "But that's not what he's doing right now. He's allowing himself to be condemned to a soul-sucking prison."

"Only if the Wizengamot decides that doing so is necessary."

"There's no guarantee that they _won't _decide that, professor," he argued, glowering at a spot on the floor in front of him. "All the evidence points to him being guilty, when it's not his fault."

The headmaster didn't answer right away. In fact, a rather long moment of silence fell over the room and, in confusion, Ed eventually _had_ to look up. And then he blinked, surprised. Professor Dumbledore was looking at him with an almost proud smile, hands still folded in front of him. If Ed didn't know any better, he'd have said the man was losing it.

"Edward." His tone was as gentle and mild as always, but with a slight fondness to it that Ed wasn't entirely sure he'd ever heard before. "I hope you can come to understand what a rare and extraordinary individual you are."

Ed blinked, confused. "I... What?"

"There are few people who've experienced the same things you have, Edward. Even fewer who are your age. I knew that only you could have done all that you have."

"Sir... I don't understand. What're you...?"

"Draco is going through a very difficult time. He is being forced to grow up very fast, made to take charge of his entire family at the tender age of sixteen. He doesn't know how to handle the change. He believes he must do it all himself, and seeking or accepting help from someone is a failure on his part. He thinks that no one could possibly begin to understand his predicament, let alone be able to help him..." Dumbledore paused, peering at the younger man over the rim of his half-moon glasses. "Does any of this sound familiar, Edward?"

A small frown had settled in over Ed's features. Of _course_ it sounded familiar. He himself had gone through much the same thing, albeit at a much younger age. He supposed that did set him apart somewhat, but it was hardly anything extraordinary. There were lots of kids orphaned by war in Amestris. What's more, most any family in Amestris had suffered the loss of a loved one and enduring many different kinds of crises. Edward just happened to be one of them.

"He is much like you, Edward," the wizard went on, closing his eyes for a moment. "But in spite of all the terrors you have lived through, you haven't fallen into the depths of despair. You believe with all your might that all the pain will be worth it in the end. An equivalent exchange, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"Draco needed such an influence in his life. An unbiased, outside opinion. A strong moral ground. I knew that someone in my position would not be able to reach him. My efforts to help him would have been viewed as meddling, perhaps even as threats to his goal, and be rejected. So I knew that only someone who would not be seen that way could hope to make any difference. Only someone like you, a peer who can speak from real experience and wouldn't appear to be trying to convert him to 'our side' of things. You were the only one able to give it to him." Blue eyes twinkled. "And _that_, Edward, is why you were needed."

Ed slowly shook his head. He just wasn't seeing it the way Dumbledore did... Draco had barely ever listened to him. Any kind of meaningful conversation between them had been few and far between; the Malfoy heir was just so difficult to get through to. Had what little Edward did during his time with him really affected so much?

Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, sighing with an exhaustion that seemed to extend from more than just physical weariness. "I apologize... It must seem as though I used you. I would have asked Harry to speak with him, but... unfortunately they do not seem to get along."

"There was always Hermione," Ed offered with a shrug. "She was obviously able to influence him more than I was."

"Ahh, Hermione..." The headmaster smiled, nodding his head. "Admittedly, I was unaware of what Miss Granger's role in all of this was. You were the one who pulled them to equal footing, Edward. I doubt she would have run up to the tower at all had it not been for your efforts."

He was looking at Ed again with that twinkle in his eyes, like he was a proud grandfather or something to that effect. Ed just stared back at him, bewildered. He hadn't _known_? But he knew everything... He'd predicted everything, figured out what was going to happen and how and who was needed, but he hadn't known about Draco and Hermione? It had seemed so obvious. And it had seemed obvious to _Edward Elric_. Someone who was just about as disconnected from every aspect of romance as one could get!

As though his mind had been read, Dumbledore spoke again, that amused look on his wisened old face unchanged. "It must be something one can only see when in the thick of things, as they say."

Ed's frown only deepened. He really wanted to believe the headmaster, but... It just wasn't happening. He let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Sir... Either way, it's all out of my hands now. I did what I could, but nothing I do or say from here on out will change a thing."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Dumbledore said, his smile unwavering.

A single eyebrow slowly arched upward. What was _that_ supposed to mean? Ed studied him carefully for a moment, searching his features for something - _anything_ that might clue him in to what the headmaster was thinking. But as usual, the professor revealed nothing, keeping all of his many secrets to himself once more, concealed behind a mild, tight-lipped smile. Even though he'd gone and opened himself up to shed light on so much, it still seemed unfair that there was a limit on how much and what kind of information he could get out of him.

Before Ed could open his mouth to give voice to his questions, Dumbledore stopped him with a wink. "Now then. You _will_ be coming to the hearing tomorrow, yes?"

* * *

Ed couldn't help but frown at the turnout for the hearing. In spite of their initial reluctance to even let Draco _have_ a hearing, they sure as hell seemed to be all for making it as public as possible. He supposed that the capture of so many Death Eaters all at once _would _make for some headline news, but this was ridiculous.

"This can hardly be the Ministry's doing," Roy muttered.

"That doesn't make it any less annoying," Ed grumbled right back.

When Ed and Roy arrived they were greeted by a seemingly endless crowd of journalists, flashes from a million magical cameras going off from every part of the room. The air was buzzing with reporters dictating their notes on the status of the Ministry to charmed pens and quills, people demanding to be allowed into the hearing room in spite of the room being at full capacity, officials insisting that the majority of journalists there had no permission to enter. Those voices were all Ed could hear as he and Roy tried to push their way through. They were driving him mad before they even managed to get halfway through to their destination. Their connection to Dumbledore and Draco helped their cause, and eventually they managed to enter the hearing room in the Ministry basement.

It was situated in a large dungeon with walls made of dark stone, all dimly lit by torches. Benches rose on either side of the room, but straight ahead, in the highest benches of all, were many shadowy figures talking in low voices amongst themselves. In the very middle of the front row sat Rufus Scrimgeour, the current Minister for Magic, who looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of gray in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows, keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles. There was an immediate impression of shrewdness and toughness to him, possibly just as battle-scarred as any soldier; it was easy to see why he'd been elected in such a turbulant time.

Paparazzi-wise, conditions were not much better inside the chamber. Much to the annoyance of everyone in the room, flashes were still going off intermittently from all sides, the sound of charmed quills scratching down notes breaking whatever silence could be found between testimonies. Roy led Edward to the back of the chamber, where they both leaned back against the wall, surveying the rest of the room. From there Ed could see who the other "special attendees" were: Snape and Narcissa were in the first row of benches, seated closest to where Draco was situated with Dumbledore standing by him; a pack of redheads that Ed assumed to be the entire Weasley family was on the opposite side of the dungeon; a group of people that Ed vaguely recognized as members of Dumbledore's "Order", Hermione and Alphonse amongst them. Hermione must have noticed him enter, as her eyes seemed to follow his every move. Not that Edward was hard to spot when he was sporting his familiar black outfit and deep red duster.

Up at the front of the room, Harry Potter shifted his weight from one leg to the other, looking around with a small frown. He was standing right under the scrutiny of every single one of the Wizengamot members and everyone in the audience. The weight of their gazes was heavy, almost unbearable, and it was all Harry could do to keep himself in one place.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter." Scrimgeour looked down at his papers, looking for all the world like he was going about rearranging them. "That is all. You may step down and take your seat."

Harry blinked, confused, looking from the face of one Wizengamot member to the other. "But I-"

"I said _that is all_, Mr. Potter."

"I haven't got to-"

"_Please_. _Step down_."

The older wizard was giving him a _look_ as he made the command, and so, feeling dejected, Harry did as he was told. He turned and stepped off the stand, shooting an apologetic look in Professor Dumbledore's direction before moving to slip back in amongst the rest of the viewers. More flashes went off all around him, practically blinding him as he had to raise a hand to his eyes as he moved toward where Hermione and the Order members were.

Ed glared at Scrimgeour. What with that insane crowd in the upper levels of the Ministry, he and Colonel Mustang had arrived later than either one of them had anticipated. Apparently they'd just missed Harry's entire testimony. But Ed could tell, just from the way he'd been dismissed if not by the look on Draco's face, that things weren't going very well for him at all.

Scrimgeour turned to Dumbledore, folding his hands on top of the table. "Professor Dumbledore. Are there any other witnesses you'd like to call?"

Dumbledore looked up at Scrimgeour mildly, a small frown over his features. He took a brief moment to glance around the room, and for a second his eye seemed to catch where Ed was standing before his attention was back on the minister. "No, there are not."

Ed's eyes widened, jaw dropping slightly. No way. The trial was already over? He and Roy had only just arrived, hadn't seen a single one of the previous testimonies... And Scrimgeour was already on the verge of passing his verdict? Ed rounded on Mustang with a snarl.

"Colonel...!"

"I know." Roy looked just as displeased as Ed was, frowning deeply with his gaze fixed on the minister. "I know."

The members of the Wizengamot stirred loudly as Scrimgeour leaned back a little in his seat. There was a smug air surrounding the minister now, like he was some kind of cat who'd just caught a canary. And Ed didn't like it at all.

"In that case, I hereby sentence-"

"Wait!"

The sudden interuption caused a ripple in the audience as people turned this way and that to see who'd spoken up. Scrimgeour, however, knew exactly where to look and did so with both eyebrows raised. The people who had been seated nearby turned as well, looking right at Hermione Granger with expressions that were a mix of alarm and confusion. Hermione shifted uncomfortably under their gazes, eyes darting between the nearby faces of her friends, the minister, and Draco himself.

"Please... Please, wait just a moment."

Scrimgeour frowned. "And you are...?"

Carefully, Hermione rose from her seat. "My name is Hermione Granger, sir. I'm Draco Malfoy's... friend."

Draco twitched visibly in his seat. Both of Ed's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. His friend. That was certainly a step up from what she'd been ready to admit just a few nights ago. From where he was seated right next to her, Alphonse turned slightly and caught his brother's eye. Ed tried not to grin; He could swear Al was beaming, clearly proud of Hermione's step forward. Of course, no one else would've been able to tell unless he said something and his voice gave the feeling away.

"Well, excuse me, Miss Granger but we really don't have any more time to waste on this-"

"With all due respect, Minister... Doesn't the defendant get a chance to speak up for himself before you give your sentence?"

The murmuring started up again as different members of the Wizengamot turned to one another to see if this would be acceptable. Ed's frown deepened. Why hadn't they questioned Draco yet? It seemed like a very crucial thing to skip over just like that. It really was a good thing Hermione had said something when she did.

"I have made my decision, I have no obligation to let him have his say-"

"Actually, sir you do. I've read the whole Wizengamot Charter of Rights - twice - and it says in page 387, clause 62, 5th paragraph, 6 lines down: 'In the event that the accused, or his or her representative, has no further witnesses to call in his or her defense, the accused party has the exclusive right to make a final plea before the Wizengamot passes a verdict.'"

The exact citation left Scrimgeour dumbfounded, the Wizengamot members around him shifting and whispering to one another. Cameras all around the room were flashing again, journalists quickly scribbling down their notes to this new development. Ed could see the headlines now: 'Minister Shown Up During Trial by Teen Witch.' He could barely contain his grin at the idea. Hermione was a true bookworm through and through. A hopeless nerd. A real genius. He could've kissed her.

Dumbledore turned a pleasant smile up at Scrimgeour. "I believe Miss Granger is right, minister. But if you should like to refresh your memory..." He reached into his robes and pulled out a thick indigo-colored book with the Ministry of Magic's seal on its cover. "I just so happened to have brought my very own copy of the Charter of Rights. If you would like another look."

Scrimgeour's expression twisted slightly, but then he faced the rest of the room again, adjusting himself in his seat. "That won't be necessary, headmaster... Very well. Will the defendant, Mr. Malfoy, please step forward?"

With a quick glance in Hermione's direction, Draco stood up and did exactly that to a barrage of camera flashes. Ed's eyebrows arched upward slightly at the sight of him. He looked different from when he'd been taken away in chains; where before he'd looked like a complete wreck, shoulders sagging, rumpled and utterly defeated, his jaw was now set, his shoulders squared, his silver eyes ablaze. He looked for all the world like someone about to enter a fight, and Ed wholly wanted to believe that he was in it to win.

Scrimgeour regarded him critically for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Have you any further statements to add in your defense, Mr. Malfoy?"

The Malfoy heir straightened up to his full height, clearing his throat as well. "What Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape, as well as _Mr._ Potter have said is all true. I did it." It looked for a moment as though Scrimgeour was going to pound his gavel and put an end to this, but Draco pressed onward, cutting him off. "Under the orders of Voldemort-" Most everyone in the room gasped loudly. "-I figured out how to let the Death Eaters into the school, as well as attempted several times to eliminate Professor Dumbledore."

The members of the Wizengamot turned to one another, quietly confiding their opinions to those closest to them. Ed frowned slightly. What was he doing? Not that he thought Draco should lie to the minister about what he was and wasn't responsible for, but an all out confession wasn't exactly the best way to start their final plea. He was supposed to be proving his innocence! Why wasn't he mentioning...

Draco raised his voice over the murmuring, putting an end to it. "However, I only did it to save my mother. Because I knew if I failed, her life would be in the hands of Voldemort and his cruelty."

Ed let out a breath and settled back a little. _That_ was more like it.

Scrimgeour let out a yawn. "Are you trying to tell me, Mr. Malfoy, that you had no choice? That you played no part in the attack of the school?"

"No, I take full responsibility for that. What I _meant_ was-"

"And are you saying that you were _forced_ to kill Headmaster Dumbledore? That you were blackmailed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named into doing it?"

"Well no, that's not _exactly_ true. As you can see, he's still alive."

Ed caught a hint of an amused smirk on Dumbledore's face, that playful twinkle in his blue eyes. Scrimgeour, however, was not so amused by Draco's glibness.

"It's also true," Draco went on, "that I tried to kill him three times. First with the opal necklace, second with the poisoned mead, and third, face to face, with a killing curse. But apparently, even confronted with Professor Dumbledore directly, I couldn't do it."

"Am I to understand, Mr. Malfoy, that the only reason you failed to do it was because a..." He bent over his papers to double check, then leaned back again with a quirk of his eyebrow. "... Mr. Elric intervened?

"Yes, that is correct-" Suddenly, Draco stopped for an instant, hesitating in his own testimony before pushing onward. "Mr. Elric used an expeliarmus spell to disarm me, but-"

Ed went rigid, eyes widening. "What?" he hissed under his breath, causing the colonel to glance over at him. "What the hell- The bastard's lying!"

Scrimgeour suddenly looked a lot more comfortable. "So were it not for Mr. Elric's interference you would've done it."

"Yes. However, I..." Draco trailed off, brow furrowing in thought.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco was quiet for a second, still with that thoughtful look settled over his features. His eyes briefly darted to the side, toward Hermione, then went right back to the floor. He seemed troubled for a split second, but then it vanished as he turned his gaze back up onto the minister.

"Nothing. Nevermind, you're right. That's how it happened."

_Liar_. Edward was suddenly livid, fuming quietly with his fingers clenched tight into the fabric of his sleeves, glaring down at both Draco and the minister. What the hell did that asshole think he was doing? Where was the fighting spirit Ed had seen in Draco's eyes not fifteen minutes earlier? Why wasn't he going to bring up the girl who'd saved his ass _again_ just now?

"Well, then. The verdict is settled." Scrimgeour straightened in his seat, seemingly trying to hide the contentment he must've been feeling over this victory of his. "Draco Malfoy, for the crimes of attempted murder of the headmaster as well as providing aid to the Death Eaters during the attack on Hogwarts, you are sentenced to-"

"THIS IS COMPLETE _BULLSHIT_!"

* * *

Every head in the room began to swivel from one side to the other, a dim, incoherent buzz of confusion erupting amongst themselves. Scrimgeour looked particularly upset by the outburst, banging his gavel again as he cast around the room.

"Who said that? Present yourself forward at once!"

"I'm right here." Suddenly, every last person in the room had their stare right on Edward as he stepped forward, just as instructed. "You've got one last witness willing to testify."

His gaze fell on Dumbledore, who was looking right back at him with the merest hint of a smile on his face and that oh-so-familiar twinkle in his eyes, then on Draco up in front, who simply looked shocked. It was another second before the paparrazi initiated the assault of their cameras, quills back to working at a furious pace.

Before Ed could take another step, Roy's hand was gripping his shoulder, holding him back for just another moment longer.

"Fullmetal, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" he hissed under his breath.

Ed didn't look back at him as he answered. "I don't know. But like hell I'm just gonna stand back here and let Malfoy get thrown into that hellhole of a prison."

"One wrong move will guarantee that the boy gets locked in there for life."

"Then I guess that's a gamble I have to make."

He shrugged the colonel's hand off of him and strode forward, doing his best to ignore the intensity of all the stares he knew he was receiving. They were all watching him carefully, trying to read him, trying to figure out who he was and why he was important. He really wasn't completely sure of what he was doing, to be honest. He didn't have anything prepared to say, and he certainly couldn't think of anything that would help Draco right off the top of his head. But he had no choice. If he didn't speak up, this was a done deal.

He stopped only when he was standing between Draco and Dumbledore, slipping his hands into his pockets and looking right up into the face of the minister himself. Scrimgeour was frowning as well, giving him a critical look. Then finally, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Full name?"

"Edward Elric."

There was a pause as the minister rummaged through more of his paperwork, brow furrowed in thought as he did so. After a moment he seemed to find whatever he was looking for and immediately let his eyes scan quickly down the page.

"Mr. Elric. I understand that you were undercover as a student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry upon Dumbledore's request. Correct?"

This sent a ripple of murmurs throughout the entire Wizengamot, unsettling them while the cameras went off from all sides again. All the journalists in the room were chattering amongst themselves, clearly pleased to have found a new angle for their news story. Ed looked over at Dumbledore once more, but the headmaster seemed unperturbed. He just nodded mildly in his direction, and Ed had no choice but to let things play out.

"Yes, sir. I'm a soldier, a state alchemist, from the military of my home country, Amestris."

Another barrage of camera flashes. The press was having a field day.

"Could you tell us-"

"Excuse me!"

Ed blinked. That definitely wasn't the voice of the minister. Raising an eyebrow, he turned in the direction the voice had come from. There, standing amidst the crowd with one arm raised furtively in the air, was a tall, curly-haired blonde woman with bejeweled spectacles and an overly fancy coat. Her lips pursed into a little smile when Ed's gaze fell on her, and she quickly snapped for her enchanted green quill to set to work.

"Ex_cuse_ me, Mr. Alrick - Rita Skeeter, for the _Merlin Inquirer_. When magical minds inquire, Merlin's there to answer! Now... Where is this 'Amestris' country? Anywhere in the vicinity of Germany or the Ukraine, perhaps? Or maybe Switzerland is closer, hmm?"

The question threw Edward for a second. Why was that even remotely relevant?

Before he could even think of an answer, Scrimgeour was banging his gavel again. "Miss Skeeter," he barked at the woman, "this is a hearing, _not_ a press conference!"

The journalist looked put out as she sank back into her seat, but the order certainly didn't stop her quill from writing things down. With a shake of his head, Ed turned back to face the minister to let his interrogation begin properly.

"Now, Mr. Elric. What _exactly _was the job you were assigned to do?"

His frown deepened. He knew how trials worked; it was the whole truth or serious consequences to the defendant. Not only that, but everything he did here was going to reflect on his country and the military operation he was a part of. Regardless of how much he disliked the Amestrian government, he couldn't allow them to take a heavy hit because of him.

"As you said, I've been placed here on orders, as an undercover agent in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My assignment was to watch over Draco Malfoy. To try and keep him out of trouble."

Someone in the mix of people scoffed. "A fine job he did of _that_."

Other members of the Wizengamot laughed a little as well. Ed just frowned, looking through all of the laughing faces to try and pinpoint the one who'd spoken. Scrimgeour looked equally unamused by the snide comment. It must've been a journalist.

"My ability to execute this task more efficiently," Ed went on in a loud voice, cutting through the derisive laughter, "was somewhat inhibited by the fact that I couldn't work openly. I had to maintain the appearance of a normal student, and since so much of my presence in Hogwarts was suspect to begin with, I had to work extra hard in order to do so." He paused for a second, frowning. "But yes, ultimately, I didn't completely succeed in my task."

Another wizard spoke up. "Not 'completely'?" he echoed curiously. "Hogwarts was under siege! This is fact, and a complete failure on your part!"

"Silence, Doyle!" Scrimgeour snapped. The wizard seemed to shrink in his seat a little as the minister turned his attention back on Edward. "As previously stated by the defendant himself, Draco Malfoy's assignment was to let the Death Eaters into the school and then kill Professor Dumbledore. Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true that Malfoy was assigned to do that," Ed admitted with a small sigh. "However, I personally don't believe that he was the one who actually followed through with the act."

There was more muttering, more quills scribbling their notes, wizards turning to one another both in disbelief and irritation. Ed's frown deepened, eyes moving over each face in turn, watching them shake their heads or laugh. It was no surprise that they didn't agree with him, but it annoyed him to see nonetheless. If they'd let Draco speak up properly earlier, they would've known this already.

"He's biased, obviously _friends _with the Malfoy boy-"

Ed barely managed to fight down an amused snort, rolling his eyes. "That's hardly the case. I've been stuck with this annoying bastard all year. To both of our discomfort, we've slept in the same room and attended the same classes at the same time with the same people, shared homework, shared meals... And even when he thought I wasn't looking, I had to watch him because ever since I stepped out of Colonel Mustang's office almost a year ago, I was on assignment." He shot the members of the Wizengamot a quick glare. "Do you have _any _concept of just how frustrating that is?"

From somewhere behind him, Ed could've sworn he'd heard Roy suppress a snort of amused laughter. Everybody started talking in low voices amongst themselves and cameras flashed once again, but Ed continued, choosing to speak over them. Scrimgeour struck his gavel against the table, raising his voice so everyone could hear him.

"Order, order! Everyone settle down! That includes you, Mr. Elric!"

"Hey, I'm in the middle of testifying here!" Ed shot back, and before the look of anger could properly register across Scrimgeour's face, he went on. "So out of spite for this entire situation, I pulled through. I scrutinized every single little thing Malfoy did, watched him so carefully I could probably tell you how many breaths he's taken since I met him, stuck so close to him that I could almost be his damned shadow. I was absolutely _determined_ to find out what the hell he was doing, why, and how to stop it. And even though I didn't manage to stop him in time, if there's any one thing I've succeeded in learning about him in the past year, it's that Draco Malfoy is not a Death Eater."

"_THAT IS ENOUGH_, MR. ELRIC," Scrimgeour growled, banging his gavel so hard Ed was sure it was charmed so that it wouldn't break under the force of it. "You're contradicting evidence! We all saw the Dark Mark embedded in his arm!"

Ed let out an annoyed sigh. Minor details. "Okay, _technically_ he was going through what I'd like to call a 'Death Eater internship', an orientation of sorts. But that's not-"

"It's the brand of a Death Eater!"

"If I remember correctly, you wizards define a Death Eater as a Magical citizen who's allied him or herself with Voldemort-" The chorus of gasps was almost encouraging. "_-_and therefore works against the flow of the rest of society. Outlaws, merciless killers, elitists, purists... All of whom are after the extermination of all non-magical people and their sympathizers, as well as the eventual taking over of the world. Right?"

A drone of agreement to this rippled through the wizards, each of them looking toward each other as though searching for confirmation. Upon seeing this, Ed cast a brief glance over at Draco in his seat. The Malfoy heir remained motionless and silent, his dull gray eyes locked to some spot right in front of him. The alchemist then turned back toward the minister with a frown.

"No matter how much he may insist, Draco Malfoy is none of those things. The symbol on his arm is just a symbol. It doesn't _make _him anything."

Scrimgeour scoffed loudly, giving Ed the most disdainful look he'd received over the course of the entire trial. "His father Lucius was before him, and the boy was more than willing to do You-Know-Who's bidding. There's testimony to it, he's a Death Eater, through and through!"

Many members of the Wizengamot agreed, each turning to someone near them to discuss that clearly, Ed was off his rocker. The young alchemist practically snarled, his fists balling at his sides. He hated when people tried to play the father card on him.

"He's not!" His voice was rising again, and everyone's attention was back on him. "You people are so willing to just slap that label on him just because of his _father_? Malfoy never really _wanted _to be part of it! But that's what everyone expects of him, isn't it? And the kid's been brainwashed into thinking that he absolutely has to meet those expectations no matter what! His family, everyone at school... I've heard the Slytherin students at Hogwarts whisper about What's-His-Face and trust me, it wasn't in the fearful way I hear from all of you. It's all... _ingrained _in Malfoy's head. 'Son of a Death Eater, he _must_ be a Death Eater too' -" He noticed more wizards trying to interject and swiftly cut them off, speaking quickly, voice going louder. "Well, let me tell you something, _sirs_. Just because they have the same blood running through their veins doesn't mean they have to be anything alike! Keep thinking like that and you're no better than Voldemort and his crew!"

Once again everyone in the room stirred loudly in response to this, the journalists starting up with a cacophony of incomprehensible questions. Scrimgeour had to bang his gavel even harder, calling out for order in a loud booming voice. Only when the noise had gone down some did he speak again, leaning forward in his seat and turning a suspicious gaze on Edward.

"Do you mean to tell me, Mr. Elric, that Mr. Malfoy is innocent in all of this?"

Unfazed by the hairy eye he was receiving, Ed nodded firmly. "Yes."

"In spite of the fact that he himself has confessed to many of his wrongs? As well as Mr. Potter's testimony to the shady nature of Mr. Malfoy's past?"

"That was blackmail," Ed insisted, doing his best to keep his voice level. "But he's changed. He's not that kind of person anymore."

Scrimgeour scowled a little. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that? That somehow, somewhere over the course of the year, something's changed him?"

"Yes. Something _did_ change him, something I couldn't have expected. And for once, it wasn't anything I did or had a hand in."

"And what exactly was that something?"

Ed shifted his weight from one leg to the other, then replied, almost casually, "A girl."

This brought up the stirring amongst the wizards again, the jourrnalists seemingly going nuts over this new development. Others among them were going so far as to laugh, like Ed had just told some great joke. Even Scrimgeour was glancing at his other comrades, clearly uncertain as to the validity of this new argument. Seeing this made Ed's eyes narrow angrily. As storybook cliche as it was, he was absolutely serious. From out of the corner of his eye, Ed could see Draco shift in his seat. He was obviously uncomfortable with this being brought up.

"That's enough, Elric," he could hear Draco growl under his breath. "Just shut it already."

"No way," Ed muttered back, not turning to look at him. "I'm just getting started."

Before Draco could say anything further, the press once again raised its ugly head. Questions were being thrown at them left and right, in such enthusiastic voices that Ed could barely understand half of them. It was clear that they were very pleased to have gotten more out of this hearing than they'd initially bargained.

"Can you identify her, Mr. Elric? Is she here in this room?"

"Would you say their relationship was _intimate_?"

"Tell us more about their forbidden love story!"

"You're certain it was a girl and not another man?"

Ed made a face. The media certainly had an interesting way of interpreting things.

* * *

"Oh no..."

The words were muttered under her breath, soft enough that Al barely managed to catch it over the noise of the room. He turned to look over at her, head tilted slightly in curiosity.

"Miss Hermione? What's wrong?"

She turned a worried look on Al, her hair seeming to frizz up in her distress as she pushed it out of her face. "This is _not_ looking good for your brother, Alphonse. There's no way they're going to believe him. For all the Wizengamot knows he's just a very good liar!"

Al twitched slightly. Well, Ed _was_ a very good liar, and it didn't help much that Al knew that. Still, he was absolutely right about this, wasn't he? And as unbelievable as it may sound, Alphonse had complete faith in what his brother had learned over the past year.

"I- I know it looks bad, Miss Hermione, but... Brother's very good at getting himself out of bad situations like this. He knows what he's doing."

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh, twisting slightly in her seat so that she could properly explain things to him. "Scrimgeour's smart. He's already making Edward's story seem like he made it up, and he's going to keep questioning him until he has nothing to say. And _then _he'll ask for proof. Actual, tangible proof that Edward can't give. This is hopeless."

With that she faced forward again, but the worry was still clearly present in her eyes. She wasn't looking at Scrimgeour, though. Or the members of the Wizengamot, or Dumbledore, or even at Edward. Her gaze was fixed on Draco, as though she was searching his face for something she needed to set all this right. But whatever it was, she wasn't finding it.

If he could, Al would've been frowning. He knew Hermione had a point. If they had something real and weren't just relying on Ed's word, then that could just about set it. Anything would do: Some sort of record, maybe a receipt from a gift he'd bought her, or the present itself, or-

Al stiffened. Scrimgeour was pounding his gavel again to get the journalists to settle down, and it was finally starting to work. The room was quickly getting quieter. Al braced himself.

"Miss Hermione?"

Hermione hesitantly tore her eyes away from Draco to look up at him. "Yes, Alphonse?"

"This may not be as hopeless as you think."

* * *

The moment the journalists finally settled down, disappointed having all of their questions left unanswered, Scrimgeour's attention was right back on Edward. Ed was getting used to having Scrimgeour turn to him with that expression of disbelief, but this time it was worse. The man actually looked _amused_, which served only to make Ed angrier.

"Mr. Elric, do you truly expect us to believe something so simple could change a man's nature?"

"I don't see what's so unusual about it," Ed answered casually, masking his irritation with a nonchalant shrug. "It happens all the time. We men do all sorts of things to impress a girl we've got our eye on, wouldn't you say?"

A single glance around the room confirmed it; most if not all of the men in the room began to mutter and shift, looking at one another and shrugging. Even the women that were present had to agree, nodding and smiling at what were probably fond memories for them. Ed smirked a little at noticing all this, then turned back to the minister with an absolutely serious look on his face.

"He fell for a girl, and she influenced him to change for the better. It happened and that's a fact."

"Yes..." From nearby, Professor Dumbledore was nodding. "Love. A very powerful, very old magic indeed."

Draco's face was alternating between turning red and white.

Scrimgeour looked like his lion's mane had been ruffled the wrong way. "You've no evidence to support this claim, Mr. Elric!"

"But I'm an eyewitness," Ed retorted quickly, looking right at the minister. "As a witness, the court is assumed to take my word for fact same as any physical evidence. If you want more proof, just look at his face! Right now!"

Scrimgeour didn't, but it seemed every single journalist in the room certainly did. It looked like Draco could feel their stares on him as he glared down at his feet, face burning.

"And I saw it," Ed went on. "I saw _everything_ Draco did. And that includes the moment he pointed his wand at Professor Dumbledore."

"Naturally, as you were the one who stopped him, correct?"

Ed shook his head. "No."

This made Scrimgeour's eyes widen, bushy eyebrows rising almost to his hairline. From beside him, Ed could hear Draco hiss at him angrily.

"Elric, _shut it_."

He ignored the plea. It was time to put this little lie of Draco's away and get this all straightened out. "I'm the one he disarmed at the tower. I hate to admit it, but I was completely incapacitated while Malfoy held the headmaster at wandpoint. Held us _both_ at wandpoint, actually. Nobody ran in to stop him and rescue Professor Dumbledore. Malfoy lowered his wand."

Again, the headmaster nodded. His eyes were twinkling. "That is correct."

The Wizengamot fell silent, and if it weren't for the quills and the cameras the entire room would have followed completely. Draco was still glaring at some spot on the floor in front of him, jaw clenched. One could almost hear the sound of this information slowly, carefully being absorbed. At length, one of the Wizengamot members spoke up.

"How do we know you're not lying to cover for Mr. Malfoy's actions?"

"I've got no reason to," Ed answered easily, sliding a look over at the woman who'd posed the question. "I've already said that I'm not friends with Malfoy. I'm a soldier. I'm just doing my duty to protect innocent people. Something wrong with that?"

Ed almost wanted to roll his eyes at what he'd just said. He was sure Mustang had a smirk on his face just from hearing him talk about his "duties" as a soldier, since he'd never really enjoyed having such a position. But it was the truth. That was what soldiers were supposed to do, and for once it was useful to pull that card on someone.

There was a long, pregnant pause. And then Scrimgeour leaned forward, folding his hands on the table before him, eyes fixed on Ed's face. His frown was deep and serious, but there was something in his eyes that bothered Ed.

"_Prove_ it to us, Mr. Elric," the minister insisted again. "Give us tangible evidence. Hard proof, and not just the word of a foreigner, soldier or not."

Ed tensed. He'd known that this was coming. He knew it from the very beginning. He'd really hoped that the eyewitness bit would fly, and now here he was being driven into a corner. Ed flexed his jaw, eyes narrowing slightly. He could practically _see_ Scrimgeour feeding off his sudden anxiety.

"I..."

"We have proof right here."

The interruption had everybody turning to face the one who'd spoken, only to find Hermione Granger once again standing in her seat. The room came to life again, the air buzzing as everyone turned to one another, obviously wondering just who on earth this girl really was. That didn't stop the quills from flying over the parchment, or the cameras from flashing all around them. Ed raised an eyebrow at her, then gave Al a questioning look. The suit of armor gave away nothing and simply shrugged.

"What is the meaning of this?" someone in the Wizengamot cried out, giving Hermione a disdainful look. "Have we not been here long enough? We can't have some young girl constantly interrupting us like this!"

Others voiced their agreement, turning to Scrimgeour for his final word in the matter. The minister himself scowled, but neither stopped nor encouraged them. Hermione held his gaze, then raised a folded up piece of parchment for everyone to see. It certainly caught Ed's attention, his eyes widening slightly. She was too far away to really be able to tell, but he was sure he'd seen it before. Which made him sure he knew what it was. Which made a surge of hope well up within him.

"Minister, sir, may I approach the bench?"

Scrimgeour eyed her for a moment, then finally nodded. "Very well. Make it quick."

With a nod, Hermione moved to exit the viewing benches and step down into the center of the room, where Draco and Ed were, every eye in the room on her. Ed remained calm and silent as she walked past them, but Draco was clearly on the verge of panic. His focus was entirely on her as she got closer and he was clearly fighting the urge to run over and stop her in her tracks. Obviously he knew exactly what that piece of parchment was as well.

"I hold in my hand a letter that Draco wrote to... to the girl he loves. And if you'll let me, I'd like to read it out loud."

The entire room was stirring again, now perhaps altogether too eager to hear what the young woman had to say. Scrimgeour raised his eyebrows in surprise, but nodded his allowance for her to continue. Everyone squirmed excitedly in their seats, so pleased with the drama and suspense of it all. Everyone, it seemed, but Draco.

"Granger, I'm begging you," Draco said desperately. "Don't do this... Please!"

She ignored him, focused on carefully unfolding the parchment.

"Don't do this!" He called out to her again. "Hermione, _please_!"

She froze abruptly at hearing her name fall from his lips, her hold on the paper tightening ever so slightly. But she still didn't turn to look at him. The corners of her lips quirked downward, brow furrowing.

"I'm not going to stand by and do nothing." She shook her head slowly, her eyes glued to the parchment in her hands. "I'm sorry, Draco, but I can't let you go to Azkaban. As far as I'm concerned, you're innocent."

She drew in a deep breath as she finished unfolding the letter. And without looking one way or the other, she began to read.

'_I must have started a hundred letters to you, never knowing how to begin. I have sat like this one too many times in some illusion of glory, with a quill in hand and numerous crumpled pieces of parchment scattered across my bedroom floor...'_

Ed glanced over, instantly recognizing that harsh script handwriting, then looked over at Draco. It looked as though he was prepared to shut it all out, fixing his gaze on a spot straight in front of him and holding onto it as though it was all he had left. He supposed he couldn't be blamed, though. This was a letter that he'd had no intention of sending, and now its contents were about to be known to every reporter in the room. It wasn't the easiest way to prove a man's innocence, but in their case it was the only one that worked.

It seemed like just about everyone was on the edge of their seats, leaning forward so that they wouldn't miss a single word of the letter's contents. And as Hermione continued, slowly revealing everything that Draco ever hoped to keep hidden, the tides turned. It wasn't as obvious at first, but then Ed heard that very first sniffle from the other side of the room. And another soon after it. And another.

The defenses of the women in the room were cracking, and as Ed glanced around it was clear that they weren't the only ones. Most people it seemed, men and women alike, were simply caught in a state of shock, their eyes wide as saucers. Others were looking to their neighbors, the looks on their faces some mix of disbelief and astonishment. Some seemed simply unable to believe what they were listening to. Even many of the journalists in the room had completely stopped writing, engrossed in the contents of the letter. Several had stopped to listen though their quills continued to work.

It wasn't long before Draco could barely hold his gaze where he had set it. Slowly he'd started to look toward the floor, his face just a touch paler than usual. But that didn't stop the words from being spoken, pulling them out into the open where they could no longer be taken back. Hermione didn't stop or hesitate as she read the letter aloud keeping herself steady as she did so. And then she risked a glance over in Draco's direction, only to find that he was looking right back at her.

It was just a split second, but that was all it took. There was something there in his eyes that she'd never seen before, something real. She knew how truly, genuinely terrified he was as she continued to pour out every emotion he'd ever felt in his life. He'd spent so much time living outside of his emotions; Years of rejecting, denying, hiding, and fighting against everything he was forbidden to feel. And yet he'd still lost out to just one: the very feeling he got whenever he looked at her. Now she was looking back at him... and time came to an indefinite stop. His once cold, unfeeling grey eyes were suddenly depths of cerulean silver overwhelmed with emotion. He had said time and time again that he felt nothing, especially for her. But against all reason, he loved her... and now, she believed him.

She had to tear her eyes away, had to make herself focus on what part of the letter she'd been on. Her hands started to shake. Her voice began to crack.

'_...I promised myself that for once in my life, I would tell the truth. I would stop denying everything I say or do; it will never prove anything and that is not fair to you. So, as I end this, without you ever knowing how strongly I felt for you, all the pain and pleasure you have given me, the prison and sanctuary I found in you, it has finally become clear to me...'_

And that was where Hermione finally cracked. It was like something had wedged itself into her throat and held her voice in, and if she tried to push it any further she knew she would break. She took a breath, held it for a second, then tried again only to fail. She had to stop- No, she had to keep going. But the reality of it all was hitting her too hard too fast, and even just holding the letter in her hands felt like too much for her. She had to finish it, though. Just a few more sentences...

The parchment slipped easily from her fingers, causing her to look up in surprise. Ed had stepped forward at some point and had quietly taken the letter from her. His eyes didn't meet hers, though; they stayed locked on the letter as he turned the parchment over so he was looking at it properly. Hermione seemed stunned, but with her voice failing her she made no protest. Her gaze dropped toward the floor, her lips pressed in a tight line so that she could attempt to recompose herself.

'_And I need to say it before all courage fails me again.'_

Ed spared a glance toward both Hermione and Draco, using that moment to study each of their faces. They both had their eyes to the floor now, and Ed could swear they were bracing themselves for what was coming next. He didn't blame them. He drew in a breath as he turned back to the letter and read the very last lines.

'_I love you, Hermione Granger. Goodbye forever... Draco.'_

The room fell completely silent. For just a few moments it seemed as though the world had come to a screeching halt. Ed was the one who broke it with the sound of his boots on the floor as he stepped closer to where Scrimgeour was sitting, holding the letter up for him to look at.

"You can verify it, if you need to. This is Draco Malfoy's handwriting."

Clearly shocked, the minister reached out to take the letter from him, his eyes moving over the page. And then, quite suddenly, the room exploded into chaos. Cameras went off everywhere, every single one of the reporters in the room were on their feet and shouting out questions. Ed supposed many of them were dumbfounded at the realization that the girl who'd read the letter aloud was the very girl it had been intended for... Then again there were probably also many who'd suspected as much. Still, the story was too juicy, too irresistible for any reporter to pass up making note of.

The Wizengamot had a different reaction to the revelation. They were all talking amongst themselves again, looking somewhat disoriented and confused. From where Ed was standing, it looked like none of them were completely sure on how to proceed from here on out. Scrimgeour looked especially perturbed as he scanned the letter again and again, desperately searching for some discrepancy that would work in his favor. To his great displeasure, he wasn't finding it. And that just flustered him even more. He blindly reached out for his gavel and pounded it loudly, but the sound was swallowed by the ruckus caused by all the journalists. So instead he grabbed his wand, pressed the tip to the side of his neck and said, in a loud, booming voice that drowned out all the others, "ORDER."

The noise level went down slightly, the innumerable voices merging into a low, excited buzz that certainly kept the room alive. Scrimgeour had to clear his throat several times as he put the letter back down with all of his other paperwork, eventually addressing the rest of the room.

"Yes, well... Ah... Regardless of the new information that has been presented, the suspect is still confirmed to be killer-"

"I don't think you've been paying attention," Ed interjected, eyes narrowing slightly. For a second the minister was thrown off, and just as he opened his mouth to say something more, Ed continued, loudly so that everyone could hear.

"Let me refresh your memory. Despite appearances and the fact that he was given orders to murder someone, Draco Malfoy is not a killer. For one thing, his only target is still very much alive, right over there."

Professor Dumbledore, now seated alongside Professor Snape, smiled and waved mildly at the onlookers. Scrimgeour bristled.

"Then he is confirmed to be a heartless Death Eat-"

"He's an annoyingly stubborn, arrogant, selfish, spoiled brat with a blood superiority complex who looks at himself in the mirror way too much, probably uses over a dozen different hair spells and tonics to keep it so perfectly slicked back all the time, and has a fanclub that actually manages to be bigger than his ego, not to mention his emotional constipation and his position as the biggest _idiot _I've ever had the misfortune of knowing... But he's got a heart. One way too big to have gotten turned into a Death Eater just because they burned a tattoo on his arm. If you can refute that in any way, minister, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it."

The room fell into an expectant silence, all eyes on Scrimgeour as they waited to hear what more he had to say. But the silence stretched onward, and the atmosphere in the room grew more and more tense with each passing moment. The minister shifted in his seat, kept rifling through his documents, opened and closed his mouth as he struggled to find something to say. And it was quite clear to Ed and everyone else present that Scrimgeour could no longer fight back.

It was as the room started to come back to life with people whispering about Scrimgeour's lost resolve that Dumbledore rose from his seat. He loudly cleared his throat and turned toward the minister, hands clasped in front of him.

"Well, Minister... It would seem a change in verdict is in order."


End file.
